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Submit- Full
name
HILDEBRAND, Robert Andrew - Date of
birth
23 April 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Cold Spring, Campbell County, Kentucky -
Hometown
Cold Spring, Campbell County, Kentucky
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35668491 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
561st Bombardment Squadron,
388th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 May 1944 - Place of
death
Nettelsee, near Preetz, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 36 | 25 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Walter I. Hildebrand (father)
Elizabeth A. (Keller) Hildebrand (mother)
Viola P. Hildebrand (half-sister)
Ethel Hildebrand (half-sister)
Troen W. Hildebrand (half-brother)
Dolores M. Hildebrand (sister)
Geneva H. Hildebrand (sister)
Walter I. Hildebrand (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97091 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Dear Mom aka Weary Wolf
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port
MACR: 4956
More information
Sgr Robert A. Hildebrand was a watchmaker of a gold- or silversmith. He enlisted in Cincinnati, Ohio on 27 October 1942.The airplane was hit by flak in the nose, waist and n° 3 engine, which started to burn imediately. Instantly the pilot tried to put the fire out by diving to 18,000 ft. When the fire became more intense, he gave the order to bail out.
Nine crew members survived and were taken prisoner. Only Sgt Hildebrand was killed. The pilot, 2nd Lt Gailard Mergenthaler stated after he returned to duty after his release from POW camp that he saw Hildebrand's body on the way to a Kiel jail with a small caliber bullet wound in his temple. He believed he heard a German guard say that the was shot by a German civilian from the town of Preetz.
Four of the crew were put into the German POW hospital at Schleswig with the following injuries: Lt Cohen with fractures of both bones of his left forearm; Lt Hamilton with a bullet wound in the right thigh and scratch wound on forehead; S/Sgt Anshutz with fracture of his left knuckle and T/Sgt Sprague with a bullet wound in right leg.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Dick Henggeler, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, 388th Bomb Group Historian, www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Peter Schouteten