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Personal info

Full name
PETERSON, Darling Leroy
Date of birth
5 March 1924
Age
21
Place of birth
Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hometown
Hennepin County, Minnesota

Military service

Service number
O-2064310
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Navigator
Unit
702nd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
7 April 1945
Place of death
15 Miles South of Bremen, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
C 7 19

Immediate family

Members
Anton Peterson (father)
Bertha J. (Johnson) Peterson (mother)
Helen (Plochock) Peterson (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-94870
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Axis Ex-Lax
Destination: Duneberg, Germany
Mission: Bombing
MACR: 13894

More information

Ship 870 was attacked by an ME-262 and a fire started in the bomb bay. The ship started to go down and all crew members put on their parachutes. The ship exploded and six men were blown clear of the plane. Darling L. Peterson was dead on reaching the ground.

1st Lt Darling L. Peterson first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Ardennes, Belgium Block J, Row 2, Grave 30.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - Paulson Family Tree / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/9885

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Helen (Darling Leroy) Plochocki, Peterson, Candyli