Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
GREENE, Robert Nixon "Bobby" - Date of
birth
21 September 1923 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Virginia Beach, Princess Anne County, Virginia -
Hometown
Norfolk, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-821483 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
351st Fighter Squadron,
353rd Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
17 September 1944 - Place of
death
Vijfsprongweg, north of Wekeromse Zand
Meulunteren, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 22 | 12 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Francis H. Greene (father)
Winifred C. (Nixon) Greene (mother)
John N. Greene (brother)
Francis W. Greene (brother)
Winifred L. Greene (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-75815 -
Data
Type: P-47D
Nickname: Patricia Baby
Destination: Arnhem area, the Netherlands
Mission: Attack on flak positions
MACR: 8802
More information
Robert Greene was a mechanic before he joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Richmond, Virginia, on 18 September 1942.Lt Charles L. McGraw, who was flying in the same squadron, followed Lt Greene in its run on a flak emplacement. He came unusually low on the target, and it appeared that the bomb blast set his belly tank on fire, because as soon as he pulled up he was burning fiercely. He was heading from south to north on his run, and as soon as he caught fire, he pulled up and to his left. The plane rolled over on its back and Lt Greene dropped out at about 200 feet altitude. Lt McGraw observed the path of the pilot to the ground, and it appeared to him that the parachute had just started to open, but not enough to save the pilot.
Lt Greene was killed on his third mission.
A memorial plaque was erected at the location of the crash.
His brother Francis served as a Lieutenant Junior Grade with the U.S. Navy Reserve and was killed in action in the Pacific on 22 March 1945. He is buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (informally known as Punchbowl Cemetery), a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, http://353rdfightergroup.com, Searching for Lieutenant Greene - the 351st Fighter Squadron and Operation "Market Garden" of Frederik C. Paauwe
Photo source: www.flikr.com - D. Sheley, Peter Schouteten, Searching for Lieutenant Greene - the 351st Fighter Squadron and Operation "Market Garden" of Frederik C. Paauwe