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Personal info

Full name
WOODBURY, Howard Vernon
Date of birth
12 May 1920
Age
24
Place of birth
De Smet, Kingsbury County, South Dakota
Hometown
De Smet, Kingsbury County, South Dakota

Military service

Service number
37019026
Rank
Sergeant
Function
Waist Gunner
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

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

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
L 18 8

Immediate family

Members
Frank H. Woodbury (father)
Sina (Halverson) Woodbury (mother)
Ray E. Woodbury (brother)
Gordon Woodbury (brother)
Wesley S. Woodbury (brother)
Betty L. Woodbury (sister)
Faye (Grooms) Woodbury (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 certain from which airplane the parachutes were.

Eight crew members were killed and 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; other times, 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, Astrid van Erp, Tery Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Church record / 1930 Census, Alabama, County Marriage Records, 1805-1967

Photo source: Peter Schouteten