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name
CAMPBELL, Robert Greenlee "Bob" - Date of
birth
23 March 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Hillsboro, Washington County, Oregon -
Hometown
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-818346 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
601st Bombardment Squadron,
398th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
2 November 1944 - Place of
death
9 miles southwest of Merseburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| L | 20 | 12 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Lester R. Campbell (father)
Edna W. (Wittman) Campbell (mother)
Homer J. Campbell (brother)
Claire J. (Cotter) Campbell (wife)
Nancy Campbell (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38670 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Merseburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Leuna synthetic oil refinery
MACR: 10156
More information
1st Lt Robert G. Campbell graduated from Gresham High School in Gresham, Oregon and from Oregon State University in 1942. He was employed as Assistant Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service.According to a ball turret gunner of another B-17 in the group this airplane was hit about 2 or 3 minutes after they had turned away from the target. The #2 engine was ablaze. After he saw six parachutes leave the airplane, it went into a flat spin.
Eight crew members survived and were taken prisoner, only Lt Campbell was killed.
His body was found in a river, nine miles southwest of the target four days later.
He was first buried at the cemetery of Mücheln, Germany.
After the war a prosecuting attorney in Fort Smith Arkansas, submitted the thesis that Lt Campbell, because of so many broken bones and crushed skull, could have been beaten to death by civilians and dumped in the river. This thesis has never been proven.
In 1949, a waterfall was named in his honor on the South Fork of the Umpqua River - Campbell Falls.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1940 Census, www.398th.org
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Geoff Rice/398th BG, www.ancestry.com - Gresham High School Yearbook Yearbook 1936, The Oregonian - 24 November 1944