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name
BALES, Ross Cartee - Date of
birth
7 March 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Caldwell, Canyon County, Idaho -
Hometown
Canyon County, Idaho
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-438503 -
Rank
Captain -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
359th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
14 May 1943 - Place of
death
North Sea, near Heligoland, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
John F. Bales (father)
Eva L. (Carlee) Bales (mother)
Elanore G. Bales (sister)
Frances L. Bales (sister)
Janet L. Bales (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-5243 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: FDR's Formerly Potato Peeler Kids
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the U-boats yards
MACR: 15593
More information
Capt Ross C. Bales attended the University of Idaho.The airplane was shot down by enemy aircraft. Crew members of other B-17's in the group reported seven parachutes leaving the plane. It ditched near the island of Heligoland.
The entire crew of ten men was killed. The remains of nine men were never recovered. Only the body of waist gunner Francis W. O'Reilly washed ashore.
Six crew members are commemorated at the Walls of the Missing at Margraten, three men are commemorated at the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.303rdbg.com, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com Ford Family Tree
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.fold3.com, Daniel Bon, University of Idaho yearbook, 1941