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Personal info

Full name
SPEAS, Robert Elbert
Date of birth
5 Feburary 1917
Age
unknown
Place of birth
Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas
Hometown
Rochester, Monroe County, New York

Military service

Service number
O-680746
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Co-Pilot
Unit
350th Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
8 October 1943
Place of death
9 miles west of Hoya, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
D 19 19

Immediate family

Members
Charles R. Speas (father)
Emily A. (Lewis) Speas (mother)
Roland M. Speas (brother)
Geneva M. Speas (sister)
Clyde R. Speas (brother)
Vivian M. Speas (sister)
Dorothy G. Speas (sister)
Virginia (Hand) Speas (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-30840
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area
MACR: 951

More information

2nd Lt Robert E. Speas graduated from Sterling High School and attended Southwestern College. A tenor, he often sang in operatic productions, church choirs and over the radio.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the U.S. Army in Rochester, New York on 30 March 1942.

The plane was hit by flak, causing severe damage.

Five crew members were killed, five were taken prisoner. German records show that the five killed air men were initially buried at the cemetery of Hoya.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.100thbg.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com, www.archives.gov, www.newspapers.com - Democrat and Chronicle, www.ancestry.com - Family Tree

Photo source: Michel Beckers, www.newspapers.com - Democrat and Chronicle