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Personal info

Full name
TANSEY, Raymond E
Date of birth
19 April 1918
Age
26
Place of birth
Springfield, Union County, New Jersey
Hometown
Union County, New Jersey

Military service

Service number
32453046
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Radio Operator
Unit
701st Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
20 March 1945
Place of death
3 miles East of Helgoland, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
James E. Tansey (father)
Margaret (Collins) Tansey (mother)
Alice M. Tansey (sister)
Edmund J. Tansey (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
44-48851
Data
Type: B-24-JSH
Destination: Hemmingstadt, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Heide oil refinery
MACR: 13563

More information

S/Sgt Raymond E. Tansey enlisted in Newark, New Jersey on 28 July 1942. He attended high school for 1 year and was a stone mason before he enlisted.

He was a graduating member of the 43-13 class at Buckingham Field where he was recognized as one of the top 20 gunnery students.

The aircraft received a direct hit by flak while on his bomb run. The right wing came off and a large hole was observed in the left wing. The ship then blew up as it crashed into the water.
The entire crew is listed on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Astrid van Erp, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - New Jersey Birth Index

Photo source: Peter Schouteten