Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
WELDON, Russell Robinson Jr - Date of
birth
1 September 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut -
Hometown
Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-830364 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
356th Fighter Squadron,
354th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
22 February 1945 - Place of
death
In a ditch on the highway Alsfeld to Cruesberg, near the brewery
Alsfeld, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| L | 12 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Russell R. Weldon (father)
June (Crowley) Weldon (mother)
Herbert E. Weldon (brother)
Robert H. Weldon (brother)
Marie (Wooldridge) Weldon (wife)
Peter R. Weldon (son)
James R. Weldon (son)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-63679 -
Data
Type: P51B
Destination Alsfeld, Germany
Mission: Dive Bombing
MACR: 12651
More information
Russell R. Weldon, Jr. graduated from William Hall High School and was associated with Woolridge Brothers and Sons.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army reserve in Hartford, Connecticut and served as an instructor at Marianna Field, Florida, before being sent overseas in November 1944.
Statement from 2nd Lt Lonnie D. Kelley, who flew in the same mission: "I was leading Green flight on an escort mission 22 February 1945. Lt Weldon was on my wing. When we arrived over the target area, we were instructed to bomb a marshalling yard. When I went down there was a 10,000-foot broken ceiling and Lt Weldon started his dive with me. After pulling off the target, I called Lt Weldon and gave him my position. He did not answer, and I did not see him afterwards. Weather remained the same during period over the target."
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, wwiimemorial, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, WWII Draft Card, Hartford Courant - 18 Mar 1945
Photo source: Gerrie Franken - SOHE, Jon Teboe via Arie-Jan Van Hees