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Submit- Full
name
SAUNDERS, John Coggeshall - Date of
birth
28 August 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Summit, Summit County, New Jersey -
Hometown
Greenfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-798588 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
3 March 1945 - Place of
death
5 km northeast of Sieber near Herzberg am Harz, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| J | 15 | 22 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Edmund J. Saunders (father)
Helen A. (Coggeshall) Saunders (mother)
David E. Saunders (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50692 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Magdeburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Rothensee oil plant
MACR: 12883
More information
1st Lt John C. Saunders attended Denison College before he volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States on 24 Mar 1942 in Springfield, Massachusetts.The airplane was hit by flak and lost altitude just after bombs away.
Other crew members witnessed that Lt Saunders was shot by German civilians. The other eight crew members were taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / WWII Enlistment Record, Phi Gamma Delta - Oct 1945
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Phi Gamma Delta - Oct 1945, Family collection - courtesy of Dédee Bouwens - Interpretive Guide Netherlands American Cemetery