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Personal info

Full name
CARLISLE, Thurston Clyde
Date of birth
23 September 1912
Age
31
Place of birth
Dime Box, Lee County, Texas
Hometown
Brazos County, Texas

Military service

Service number
O-400669
Rank
Captain
Function
Pilot
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
16 August 1944
Place of death
Mosigkau near Dessau, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
Tablets of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
John T. Carlisle (father)
Ethel P. (Black) Carlisle (mother)
Cecil P. Carlisle (sister)
Ercy V. Carlisle (sister)
Ruby R. Carlisle (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-52447
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Dessau, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 8431

More information

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 crew members were killed and were buried in a mass-grave at Mosigkau, together with casualties of other crashed planes, according to German records. 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.

One crew member was taken prisoner.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Black Family Tree, www.fold3.com - MACR, IDPF

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, The Valley Morning Star - 7 May 1943