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name
LAWLESS, Valentine Browne - Date of
birth
1908 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Virginia -
Hometown
Norfolk County, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
13036557 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Upper Turret Gunner -
Unit
725th Bombardment Squadron,
451st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 October 1944 - Place of
death
20 miles southeast of Linz, Austria
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| K | 47 | 24 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph T. Lawless (father)
Maria C. (Antilotti) Lawless (mother)
Gregory B. Lawless (brother)
Katherine M. Lawless (sister)
Michael Lawless (brother)
William Lawless (brother)
Joseph T. Lawless (brother)
Mary A. Lawless (sister)
Margaret E. Lawless (sister)
Lawrence C. Lawless (brother)
Edward K. Lawless (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-78683 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Linz, Austria
Mission: Bombing of the benzol plant
MACR: 9199
More information
T/Sgt Valentine B. Lawless attended Virginia Military Institute. He was an accountant before he volunteered for the U.S. Army in Richmond, Virginia on 14 February 1942.S/Sgt Norman S. Dion:
"I was the right waist gunner on the ship of 1st Lt William A. Miller, which flew in the formation on 16 October 1944 with B-24 airplane No. 42-78683, piloted by Captain Albert W. Johnson. The subject ship veered off to the left of the formation, at which time it was rapidly losing altitude. It seemed unlikely that the ship would clear the mountains. The, the men began bailing out of the ship. I saw a total of ten chutes leave the ship. One of the chutes crashed into the side of a mountain and the others floated down into a nearby valley."
Capt Albert W. Johnson:
"The crew thinks that either T/Sgt Lawless fell out of the plane or wasn't able to pull the rib cord after bailing out. His hands were frozen, suffering from anoxia."
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com - McVMI1943, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Buchanan & Truitt Family's, www.fold3.com, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Oct.44.html
Photo source: -