Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
REAVES, Dudley Wayne - Date of
birth
18 December 1923 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
South Bend, St. Joseph, Indiana -
Hometown
South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16169115 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
701st Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
24 February 1944 - Place of
death
Uffeln, south of Holtrup, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 13 | 19 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Donald D. Reaves (father)
Helen E. (Goss) Reaves (mother)
Marvin Reaves (bother)
James Reaves (brother)
Thomas Reaves (brother)
Leah J. Reaves (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-29130 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Gotha, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 2556
More information
S/Sgt Dudley W. Reaves graduated from Woodrow High School where he played basketball and was a chauffeur. He volunteered for the Air Corps of the army of the United States in Chicago, Illinois on 5 December 1942.S/Sgt Dudley W. Reaves was known to go by his middle name 'Wayne' when he was growing up.
Statement of 1st Lt Glenn E. Jorgensen:
"I saw Lt. Swanson's plane 41-29130 get hit by fighters. Flames could be seen in the bomb bay. He turned and left formation. I turned and left a few minutes later and saw a plane that had crashed, burning on the ground."
Five crew members survived and were taken prisoner. Five were killed and initially buried at the church cemetery of Holtrup.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, U.S. Census 1940
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com, Debbie Dahl Swanson, USAAF photograph via Arie-Jan van Hees, www.newspapers.com - The South Bend Tribune 19 March 1944