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Submit- Full
name
CARROLL, Darwin J - Date of
birth
25 July 1921 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
Waterville, Pepin County, Wisconsin -
Hometown
Pullman, Whitman County, Washington
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-745235 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
364th Fighter Squadron,
357th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 February 1944 - Place of
death
Köthen, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - unknown
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph D. Carroll (father)
Edith E. (Shirk) Carroll (mother)
Alice E. Carroll (sister)
Mary Ann Carroll (sister)
Betty E. Carroll (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-6576 -
Data
Type: P-51
Destination: Bernburg, Germany
Mission: Bomber escort
MACR: 2677
More information
2nd Lt Carroll J. Darwin joined the infantry of the National Guard in Pullman, Washington on 16 September 1940 and later transferred to the Air Corps.Statement from Captain John A. Storch, who flew in the same mission: "I was flying in a flight composed of Col Graham as no.1 and Lt Carroll as no.2 or on the Colonel's wing. Near the target area at approximately 1430 our flight was jumped by a FW190. We broke in to him and followed him down several thousand feet and as Col Graham broke back up I cut across and joined him and saw Lt Carroll start to do the same. When we came back up to about 23,000 feet and were flying straight and level Lt Carroll had not rejoined us yet. At this point I heard him call Col Graham and say he was going to have to bail out. I heard someone answered him and assumed it was Col Graham although I couldn't make out enough of the conversation to tell what was said. In checking with Col Graham on the ground afterwards I found he did not receive or answer this call. About two or three minutes after the last call I saw a P-51 pull up to about 500 yards behind us and assumed it was Lt Carroll and that he had gotten the plane started again and was rejoining us. I looked away and then back again and the plane was not there. A little late I noted a P-51 several thousand feat below me upside down and apparently out of control as it was doing an inverted falling leaf. It went thus into a split S straight down. I did not observe a chute but with the snow on the ground and all the activity it would have been very possible to have missed it."
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.cebudanderson.com, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census
Photo source: Merle Olmsted