Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
BURGIN, James Leonard - Date of
birth
3 May 1924 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee -
Hometown
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
14161327 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator -
Unit
333rd Bombardment Squadron,
94th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
26 November 1943 - Place of
death
Beauvais, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 29 | 31 |
Immediate family
-
Members
James C. Burgin (father)
Anna T. (Nipper) Burgin (mother)
Margaret H. Burgin (sister)
Virginia L. Burgin (sister)
Eugene Burgin (brother)
Thelma Burgin (sister)
Shirley L. Burgin (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-3185 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Queen Bee
Destination: Ivry, Paris, France
Mission: Bombing of the ball bearing factory
MACR: 1125
More information
Sgt James L. Burgin was an optician at Knoxville Optical Dispensary.He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Camp Forrest, Tennessee on 16 November 1942.
The airplane was attacked by enemy fighters. The interphone was out of action, the right aileron was chattered and the gas tanks punctured. It crashed in Londinières. Seven crew members were taken prisoner, one evaded capture and one man was killed. Sgt Burgin was found wounded and died the same day in the Luftwaffe Lazaret in Beauvais.
He was first buried at the French Memorial Cemetery of Marissel in Beauvais, France.
Source of information: André Koch, Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR 1125, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1930 /1940 Census, http://www.8thafhs.com, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Andy, The Knoxville Journal - 8 January 1944