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Personal info

Full name
WOLFE, Benjamin S
Date of birth
27 October 1922
Age
22
Place of birth
Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado
Hometown
Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado

Military service

Service number
O-714244
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
720th Bombardment Squadron,
450th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
25 December 1944
Place of death
Mountains near Innsbruck, Austria

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
K 11 10

Immediate family

Members
Earl C. Wolfe (father)
Hazel M. (Crist) Wolfe (mother)
Lysle E. Wolfe (brother)
Virginia R. Wolfe (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
44-41041
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Passionate Pirate
Destination: Innsbruck, Austria
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yard
MACR: 10744

More information

Cpl Daniel H. Clark:
"On 25 December 1944, our group was on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Innsbruck, Austria. I was flying as nose gunner in ship number 231 in the number seven position in the first box of the second attack unit. Lt Wolfe was flying ship number 44-41041 in the number five position in the first box of the second attack unit. Over the target, Lt Wolfe's aircraft received a direct hit on the flight deck near the pilot's compartment. Immediately, three crew members bailed out of the ship. The aircraft fell out of formation, turned over and went into a steep dive. Approximately five thousand feet from the ground, the wings of the aircraft came off. The rest of the ship fell to the ground and caught on fire. I saw two of the crew members parachutes unfold but failed to see any of the parachutes open. The time was 1208. The coordinates were 47.16N 11.24E."

Pvt James J. Smith:
"He was killed instantly by a shell that hit the flight deck."

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com - Thomas R. Church, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Mace Family Tree, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com - Russ Pickett, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Dec.44.html
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Michel Beckers