Missing information?

Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?

Submit

Personal info

Full name
CLEARY, Thomas Henry Jr
Date of birth
11 May 1925
Age
19
Place of birth
Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
Hometown
Hudson County, New Jersey

Military service

Service number
42010197
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Waist Gunner
Unit
702nd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
12 September 1944
Place of death
Near Ballum, Ameland, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
I 10 12

Immediate family

Members
Thomas H. Cleary (father)
Anna M. Cleary (mother)
Frances Cleary (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-95247
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Dixie Flyer
Destination: Misburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Deulag oil refinery
MACR: 8922

More information

S/Sgt Thomas H. Cleary Jr. enlisted in Newark, New Jersey on 19 August 1943. He attended high school for 4 years.

The aircraft was hit by flak over Heligoland. Gas was seen leaking from between #2 engine and the fuselage. The plane did a 180 grade and was last seen going into the clouds. Four crew members were killed and their remains were removed from the wreckage by Dutch civilians. They were buried in an common grave at the public cemetery of Nes on 14 September 1944.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - Taylor Family Tree