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name
BRADBURY, George Fowler - Date of
birth
9 February 1922 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
Ranburne, Cleburne County, Alabama -
Hometown
Carroll, Carroll County, Georgia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-699118 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
858th Bombardment Squadron,
492nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
16 September 1944 - Place of
death
Bainville-aux-Miroirs, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine -
Tablets of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
James E. Bradbury (father)
Mamie E. S. (Fowler) Bradbury (mother)
Vera S. Bradbury (sister)
John J. Bradbury (brother)
Annie L. Bradbury (sister)
Joel J. Bradbury (brother)
Dorothy M. Bradbury (sister)
John M. Bradbury (brother)
Ople L. Bradbury (sister)
Bessie F. Bradbury (sister)
Edward R. Bradbury (brother)
Mary E. Bradbury (sister)
Martha F. (McCracken) Bradbury (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50603 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: France
Mission: Supply drop for the resistance
MACR: 9493
More information
1st Lt George F. Bradbury attended college and was an actor before he joined the Regular Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia on 4 September 1941.The aircraft was tragically shot down by friendly fire over Bainville-aux-Miroirs in France on 16 September 1944, during a resupply mission for the French Resistance. Six of the eight crew members lost their lives in this crash.
He is remembered at the Union Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Ranburne, Cleburne County, Alabama.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced on 19 December 2024 that 1st Lt. George F. Bradbury was accounted.
In 2013, a DPAA investigative team visited Bainville-aux-Miroirs, France, where they gathered information from local informants and surveyed the area where the B-24 crashed. From 16 October through 16 November 2021, DPAA partner Geoscope Services, Ltd. excavated the site and recovered remains and evidence, all of which was accessioned into the DPAA laboratory.
Bradbury's name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery. A rosette was placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Bradbury was given his final resting place in Ranburne, Alabama in October 2025.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Coleman Family Tree, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.findagrave.com – MAJ Jimmy Cotton
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Frogman / Gene Cross / DSmith