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Submit- Full
name
CLARK, Richard Benjamin - Date of
birth
11 December 1917 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Bigfork, Flathead County, Montana -
Hometown
Jocko, Flathead County, Montana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
19019740 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer -
Unit
752nd Bombardment Squadron,
458th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
23 March 1944 - Place of
death
Alverskirchen, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 41 | 45 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Don R. Clark (father)
Nellie A. (Barrett) Clark (mother)
Effie L. Clark (sister)
Vera M. Clark (sister)
Frederick Clark (brother)
Verne F. Clark (sister)
Wanda F. Clark (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-29329 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Fritzi
Destination: Osnabruck, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Achmer airbase
MACR: 3556
More information
Richard B. Clark graduated from Bigfork High School in 1940 and joined the Army Air Corps in Missoula on 3 January 1941. He attended Curtis-Wright Technical School where he became qualified as an airplane mechanic.During the bomb run, the group ran into heavy, accurate flak. A flak bursted under the open bomb bay which started a small fire that rapidly spread troughout the entire airplane. It flew on course for 45 seconds and then fell away. The tail twisted off first and then the airplane broke up completely on the way down.
All ten crew members were killed. They were initially buried at the cemetery of Alverskirchen, Germany the same day.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.458bg.com, www.ancestry.com - Birth Record, www.newspapers.com, IDPF of Donald E. Davis, MACR
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.458bg.com, www.ancestry.com