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Personal info

Full name
MILKS, Lewis Ernest
Date of birth
22 October 1924
Age
19
Place of birth
Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa
Hometown
Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa

Military service

Service number
37668120
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Armorer Gunner
Unit
816th Bombardment Squadron,
483rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
18 July 1944
Place of death
Near Memmingen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
K 35 27

Immediate family

Members
Ernest O. Milks (father)
Rowena H. (Jones) Milks (mother)
Ira C. Milks (brother)
Erwin L. Milks (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
44-6174
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Memmingen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the airfield
MACR: 6975

More information

S/Sgt Lewis E. Milks enlisted at Camp Dodge, Iowa, on 8 April 1943.

On 18 July 1944, the 483rd Bomber Group went into assigned target area without fighter escort or other group support. As the initial point was approached, approximately seventy-five enemy fighters attacked the formation. The ensuing confusion was too much to determine the fate of the individual bombers who were shot down.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Findlay Tree / Iowa World War II Bonus Case Files / Iowa Births and Christening Index, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com - Russ Pickett, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Jul.44html

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