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Submit- Full
name
SEARS, Thomas Harvey - Date of
birth
16 June 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio -
Hometown
Webster Groves, St Louis County, Missouri
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-824923 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
700th Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
23 March 1945 - Place of
death
The farm of Walter Konerding outside Munster, Germany
Münster, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 43 | 26 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Capt. Charles H. Sears (father)
Vivian (Fosdick) Sears (mother)
John Sears (brother)
James Sears (brother)
Robert Sears (brother)
Diana (Vuillemin) Sears (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-51223 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Münster, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 13618
More information
1st Lt. Thomas H. Sears joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in La Fayette, Indiana on 10 December 1943 as a private. He attended college for 1 year.Surviving crew members presume that he was killed or injured when they were hit by anti aircraft artillery.
The Germans used Russian prisoners of war to extract the remains of Lt. Sears from the wreckage of the aircraft. They buried him at the cemetery of the World War I German hospital in Munster.
After the war he was reburied at Ardennes American Cemetery.
Six crew members were killed, three survived and were taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Thomas Smallridge, Book: If these stones could talk, Sears Family,
Colonel Calvin G. Lyons (Retired), Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov,
Photo source: Jac Engels