Missing information?

Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?

Submit

Personal info

Full name
ANKLI, Edward V
Date of birth
14 June 1924
Age
20
Place of birth
Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Michigan
Hometown
Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Michigan

Military service

Service number
15109105
Rank
Technical Sergeant
Function
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer
Unit
350th Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
6 October 1944
Place of death
Ring Strasse 51/6, Finkenkrug
10 km west of Spandau, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
A 8 14

Immediate family

Members
Victor C. Ankli (father)
Anna Ankli (mother)
Lorraine Ankli (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
43-37882
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Happy Go Lucky
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area
MACR: 9509

More information

T/Sgt Edward V. Ankli joined the U.S. Army Reserve in South Bend, Indiana on 31 August 1942.

The aircraft received a direct flak burst between engines 2 and 1. The wing burst into flame and it peeled off, spinning and burning. No parachutes were seen.

The bomb load detonated some time after the crash and killed a German woman who was attempting to assist the crew. One crewmembers was taken prisoner. Eight bodies were recovered as unknow and buried in the communal cemetery of Falkensee, Germany.

In August 1947 four crew members were positively identified and returned to the USA. At the request of next of kin the unidentified were buried in Ardennes in two adjoining graves. There is a gravestone between the two crosses with the names of the buried crewmen. Joseph J. Burghardt and John T. Carmichael are buried in separate graves.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.100thbg.com, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, http://airforce.togetherweserved.com/, http://www.mcadams.org/fpdb/100thcasualty.asp, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Dominique Potier, https://airforce.togetherweserved.com