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Personal info

Full name
OYLER, Robert Lloyd "Bud"
Date of birth
12 July 1912
Age
31
Place of birth
Pennsylvania
Hometown
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
33279759
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Ball Turret Gunner
Unit
324th Bombardment Squadron,
91st Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
26 July 1943
Place of death
Niendorf, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 42 47

Immediate family

Members
Samuel V. Oyler (father)
Sena J. Oyler (mother)
Keith D. Oyler (brother)
Floyd O. Oyler (brother)
Clare J. Oyler (brother)
Marion F. Oyler (brother)
Samuel Oyler (brother)
Doris E. Oyler (sister)
Betty J. Oyler (sister)
Vergil C. Oyler (brother)
Flossie M. Oyler (sister)
Uris L. Oyler (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-3031
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Nitemare
Destination: Hamburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the shipyards
MACR: 201

More information

Robert Oyler attended James City High School.

He enlisted in Greensburg, Pennsylvania on 25 July 1942.

The aircraft was hit by a combination of accurate anti-aircraft gun fire and enemy aircraft fire over the target. It first started to fall down from 27,000 feet out of control. The pilot evidently gained control of the airplane as it subsequently lost altitude in a low gradual glide following approximately the course taken by the formation but of necessity always falling behind.

The crew members of another airplane in the group noticed it a few miles southwest of Bremen on a course that would have allowed it to cross enemy coast just southwest of Bultrum Island. It was at 3,000 feet and slowly losing altitude with three enemy airplanes attacking it.

Seven crew members managed to bail out and were taken prisoner. Three men were killed in the crash. The bombardier, Robert Cadilek died later in a German hospital.

His brother Keith is buried at the American Military Cemetery of Henri-Chapelle and their cousin Robert W. Oyler is buried at the American Military Cemetery and Memorial of Manilla in the Philippines.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.jfgvictoryverlag.com, www.ancestry.com, www.newspapers.com - The Kane Republican

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.jfgvictoryverlag.com