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name
COHEN, Howard - Date of
birth
17 October 1924 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York -
Hometown
Queens, Queens County, New York -
Religion
Jewish
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
32887236 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Top Turret Gunner -
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 August 1944 - Place of
death
Mosigkau, southwest of Dessau, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 11 | 24 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Samuel Cohen (father)
Mattye K. Cohen (mother)
Lenora Cohen (sister)
Robert Cohen (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-51098 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Dessau, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 8432
More information
Sgt Howard Cohen enlisted in New York City, New York, on 10 April 1943.The airplane with number 42-51098 was hit by flak and went down over the target. On its way down, it knocked the wing off airplane 42-52447. Both ships went down and two to five parachutes were seen, but it is not sure from which airplane the parachutes were.
Eight of the crew members were killed in the crash. They were buried in a mass-grave next to the wreckage, together with casualties of other crashed planes. Lt Joe Guastella died in the POW Hospital of Altengrabe on 19 August 1944.
An investigation in October 1946 revealed that between August and September 1944, four American planes crashed in the area. In some cases bodies were buried near the crashed plane, another time they were buried in mass-graves. Some of the remains could be identified at that time, others couldn't.
Also, proper investigation was not possible due to political restrictions because the area was in Russian-occupied territory.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR, United States Census, 1940
Photo source: Peter Schouteten