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Submit- Full
name
MC NEELY, Donald J - Date of
birth
26 June 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Cuyahoga County, Ohio -
Hometown
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-712868 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
752nd Bombardment Squadron,
458th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
24 December 1944 - Place of
death
St. Vith, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| F | 13 | 7 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William G. Mc Neely (father)
Lucy (Lodrick) Mc Neely (mother)
Clarice A. Mc Neely (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-109812 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Schonecken, Germany
Mission: Support of U.S. forces in the Ardennes
MACR: 11121
More information
1st Lt Donald J. Mc Neely graduated from Cuyahoga Heights High School in 1939 where he served as the Senior Class President.The fatally-stricken big Liberator eased lazily into a right turn. We could see the squadron letters, 7V, painted boldly on the left side of the fuselage. As Giesen's ship swung more and more to the right, the turn tightened until it was a downward spiral, a tight spin and with the tail section gone, Giesen had no control whatever. I could picture him in the cockpit, terrified, pulling with all his might to move elevators that were no longer there, stamping wildly on rudder pedals that did nothing.
I looked anxiously for hatches to open, for crewmen to leap out, for the bomb bay to spill forth escaping people. There was nothing – no sign of anyone bailing out.
Ten, fifteen, twenty turns Giesen's ship went, down and down into the snow and trees of the Ardennes Forest. I watched until it hit the ground, five miles down, and exploded in a vast ball of fire. Charlie Giesen had been shot down in a gruesome fulfillment of his own prediction.
1st Lt Donald J. Mc Neeley was first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Foy, Belgium.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1930 Census, https://sites.google.com - Cuyahoga Hts Ohio Historical Committee
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, http://www.458bg.com, www.findagrave.com - Patti Johnson, https://sites.google.com - Cuyahoga Hts Ohio Historical Committee