Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
TATUM, Frank Wilson - Date of
birth
27 February 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Patrick County, Virginia -
Hometown
Stuart, Patrick County, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33533442 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Waist Gunner -
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 August 1944 - Place of
death
Mosigkau, southwest of Dessau, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| N | 13 | 4 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William E. Tatum (father)
Anna L. Tatum (mother)
Ida S. Tatum (sister)
Rachel H. Tatum (sister)
Annie R. Tatum (sister)
William E. Tatum (brother)
Jeanette M. Tatum (sister)
Margaret L. Tatum (sister)
Charlotte Tatum (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-51098 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Dessau, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 8432
More information
S/Sgt Frank W. Tatum was a mechanic before he enlisted in Roanoke, Virginia, on 23 February 1943.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 of the crew members were killed in the crash. They were buried in a mass grave next to the wreckage, together with casualties of other crashed planes. Lt Joe Guastella died in the POW Hospital of Altengrabe on 19 August 1944.
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.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Virginia Birth Index
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Belinda Conigliaro