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Personal info

Full name
HEGE, William Charles
Date of birth
5 July 1924
Age
19
Place of birth
New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
33435939
Rank
Sergeant
Function
Tail Gunner
Unit
561st Bombardment Squadron,
388th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
8 May 1944
Place of death
Southeast of Bremen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
A 34 39

Immediate family

Members
Charles Hege (father)
Mildred E. Hege (mother)
Darrel Hege (brother)
Marjorie Hege (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-107061
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Peg o' My Heart
Target: Berlin Germany
MACR: 4581

More information

Sgt William C. Hege attended Newcastle High School.

The airplane was shot down on the first pass of enemy fighters at 0955 hours when a 20mm shell exploded in the cockpit and the engineer was hit by a 30 caliber bullet. With #2 engine on fire, the crew bailed out and the plane crashed with a full bomb load.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, 388th Bomb Group Historian WWW.388bg.org, www.ancestry.com - 1940 census / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: Mireille Goedhart, www.findagrave.com