Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
MERFELD, Louis Leonard - Date of
birth
14 November 1919 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Coldwater, Butler County, Iowa -
Hometown
Butler County, Iowa
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37680091 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Waist Gunner -
Unit
545th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 September 1944 - Place of
death
Zechau near Altenburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 25 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
George H. Merfeld (father)
Cecelia B. (Loughren) Merfeld (mother)
Paul Merfeld (brother)
Gene Merfeld (brother)
Charles Merfeld (brother)
Maurice Merfeld (brother)
Ruth Merfeld (sister)
Margaret Merfeld (sister)
Lucille Merfeld (sister)
James Merfeld (brother)
Marble (Rock) Merfeld (wife)
Ronald Lewis (son)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-107058 -
Data
Nickname: White Angel
Type: B-17G
Destination: Merseburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the oil refinery
MACR: 8903
More information
Louis Merfeld attended Sacred Heart Academy and was employed by the Buchholz and Dralle´s department store, where he worked in the grocery department and also in an airplane factory in Burbank, California.The airplane received a direct hit by flak in the bomb bay. The bombs were immediately released, and the aircraft caught fire. It dived to 18,000 feet, leveled off, and was lost out of sight.
Two crew members were taken prisoner, and seven men were killed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.ancestry.com - Williamson Family Tree / The Iowa Recorder 14 March 1945, www.fold3.com, www.384thbombgroup.com
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com