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name
WAGNER, Casimer John - Date of
birth
4 March 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois -
Hometown
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16141960 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer -
Unit
545th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
29 April 1944 - Place of
death
Near Brandenburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Anton Wagner (father)
Anna Wagner (mother)
Anton Wagner (brother)
Mary Wagner (sister)
Jennie Wagner (sister)
Frances Wagner (sister)
Harriet Wagner (sister)
Irene H. Wagner (sister)
Theresa Wagner (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-102448 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Mexican Hay Ride
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Friedrichstrasse railway facilities
MACR: 4242
More information
S/Sgt Casimer J. Wagner was employed at the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation.He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States on 23 October 1942 in Chicago, Illinois.
The aircraft was attacked from the rear by an ME 109. The left wing burst into flames.
The pilot, Lt James A. Bouvier, testified after the war that his crew bailed out safely, but enemy fighters strafed them as they were going down on their parachutes. Waist gunner, Sgt Jack King, saw Sgt Wagner hanging with his parachute, tangled in a tree with half his face gone.
Even after the crew had landed, the fighter planes kept strafing them.
Sgt Wagner was the only casualty. The other nine crew members were taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.384thbombgroup.com, WWII Draft Card, 1930 US Census, www.fold3.com
Photo source: Mireille Goedhart, www.newspapers.com - Chicago Tribune - 3 June 1944