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Submit- Full
name
BUTLER, Aaron E - Date of
birth
28 January 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Queens, New York City, New York -
Hometown
Queens, Queens County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
12141175 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Waist Gunner -
Unit
726th Bombardment Squadron,
451st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 July 1944 - Place of
death
Near Tamási, Hungary
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 41 | 13 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Mae A. Butler (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-52087 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Ready Teddy
Destination: Wiener-Neudorf, Austria
Mission: Bombing of the aircraft engine factory
MACR: 7156
More information
S/Sgt Aaron E. Butler attended high school for 3 years and was a clerk general office before he volunteered for the US Army in New York City, New York on 8 September 1942.S/Sgt William G. Kirkendall:
Captain Fort’s plane was flying in my flight and about 0950 I saw a sheet of flame in the #3 engine. My plane was in front of Captain Fort’s plane and his ship peeled off and went about 1000 yards from the formation. The flame in the engine appeared to be extinguished and the plane banked as if to rejoin the formation, and then it went into a very close spin. It dropped below the haze and for a moment I lost sight of it. A few seconds later though I saw an explosion as if it had exploded when it hit. I did not see anyone leave the plane by parachute and doubt if anyone was able to due to the tightness of the spin and the speed the plane was falling. There is a possibility that some of the crew may have bailed out during the short time I lost sight of the plane in the haze.
1st Lt Millard E. Mulry:
Probably unable to bail out because plane was in violent spin.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / New York Births, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com – Russ Pickett, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Jul.44.html
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Michael V Drachman