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Personal info

Full name
CELENTANO, Louis S
Date of birth
23 April 1921
Age
23
Place of birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Hometown
Minong, Washburn County, Wisconsin

Military service

Service number
O-703026
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Bombardier
Unit
506th Bombardment Squadron,
44th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
30 October 1944
Place of death
Ost Steinbeck, near Hamburg, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
D 11 34

Immediate family

Members
Charles Celentano (father)
Mary (Pomfia) Celentano (mother)
Charles Celentano (brother)
Alfred Celentano (brother)
Daniel Celentano (brother)
Angeline (Birch) Celentano (sister)
Jean Marie Celentano (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
44-10523
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Hamburg Oil Refinery, Germany
MACR: 10139

More information

1st Lt Louis S. Celentano enlisted in Chicago, Illinois on 15 May 1942.

"Immediately after bombing, at 1318 hours, in vicinity of Hamburg, this aircraft went into a very steep bank. Heavy flak was encountered at this time. Aircraft came out of the 90-degree bank and was last observed flying, apparently under control, on 180-degree heading. Poor visibility, due to high clouds, made further sightings impossible. No chutes were seen." (Wrong aircraft?)

Lester Griffin, engineer, said that three men survived: Fuller, Capps, and himself. "We were a radar crew and flew only in bad weather. We were on our 23rd mission. The plane exploded, knocking or blowing me out, and I came down by parachute after regaining consciousness. I am writing this letter from the V.A. Hospital in Gainesville." Further information was not possible as Sgt Griffin died in 1983.

Sgt Clint Fuller sent other brief statements, "Bentcliff, Gempel, Fiskum, Barefoot, Celentano, Maschmeyer, Downey and a man of Mexican descent (Garza), went down with the plane. Ralph W. Capps and I bailed out over Hamburg, but I don't know how Lester Griffin managed to get out. We flew into a heavy front while leading the high, right squadron. Soup was so thick that we had to fly on instruments. Someone crossed over in front of us, with the prop wash flipping us over, and the plane spun into the ground from approximately 28,000 feet." On the contrary, our plane did not explode – it hit the deck. Neither was it a radar ship. The radio operator, Maschmeyer, froze, apparently from shock, and would not bail out. I had to climb over him in order to get to the catwalk in the bomb bay. On this mission, I was riding the top turret, and that is why I had to fight my way past the radio operator. Both Barefoot and Garza were new to our crew. Barefoot was riding the nose turret in order to complete the final mission of his tour. He was killed.

First buried at Hamburg-Ohlsdorf Cemetery, Germany, 1st Lt Louis S. Celentano was then buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery Ardennes, Belgium Block N, Row 12, Grave 299.

Source of information: Michel Beckers/Roger Fenton VP/Historian 44th BGVA, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com - "Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates / 1878-1938 / United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 /1930/1940 Census / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil
Photo source: Jac Engels, www.findagrave.com - David Johnson / Obituary, The Evening Telegram, Superior, Wisconsin, Arie-Jan van Hees, Bombardier Class Book 43-18, Big Spring, Texas