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name
MENDEZ, Esequiel P Jr - Date of
birth
June 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas -
Hometown
Cameron County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
18154888 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Engineer/Gunner -
Unit
494th Bombardment Squadron,
344th Bombardment Group, Medium
-
Awards
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
14 January 1945 - Place of
death
Near Magny-en-Vixen, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 25 | 28 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Esequiel P. Mendez (father)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-34299 -
Data
Type: B-26G
Destination: Bullay, Germany
Mission: Rail Road Bridge
MACR: Not available
More information
S/Sgt Esequiel P. Mendez Jr. volunteered for the U.S. Army in San Antonio, Texas on 7 August 1942.He graduated at Brownsville High School in May, 1942 and was employed by Pan American Airways. He took his training at Sheppard Field, Wichita Falls, where he graduated in 1942 from an intensive course in aviation mechanics; Glenn Martin Aircraft in Baltimore, Forty Myers, Fla., and Avon Park, Fla. He went overseas about August 1943 and served in England and Ireland with an Air Transport Command. In September 1944 he volunteered for combat duty and was sent to a Ninth Air Force Base in France.
The plane crashed shortly after take-off and while joining up.
S/Sgt Mendez was first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Solers, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Astrid van Erp, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record, http://shopwornangel.imaginarynumber.net, http://aviation-safety.net, www.newspapers.com - The Pique Daily call / The Brownsville Herald
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Andy, www.newspapers.com - The Brownsville Herald