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Submit- Full
name
SHELDON, Arthur Bryant Jr - Date of
birth
9 December 1921 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Essex County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-811967 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
514th Fighter Squadron,
406th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
24 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 4 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Arthur B. Sheldon (father)
Olive M. Sheldon (mother)
Thomas G. Sheldon (brother)
Wilfred C. Sheldon (brother)
Annie G. Sheldon (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-28402 -
Data
Type: P-47D-26-RA
Destination: Noville, Belgium
Mission: Ground Support
MACR: 11425
More information
Arthur B. Sheldon Jr. graduated from Saugus High School and was an errand boy.He enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts, on 6 May 1942.
Maj George I. Ruddell:
"We had been strafing vehicles and 40mm gun positions north and northeast of Bastogne. Lt Sheldon was pulling up off a strafing attack near Houffalize, and I observed a battery of four 40mm guns firing at him. I called them out, and he said, 'I see them. I’ll get them,' and rolled into a dive. At the same time, I observed another four-gun battery firing at our ships, and I dove on them while Lt Sheldon’s flight was working on the others. When I pulled up again, I saw aircraft wreckage burning on the ground near still another battery of guns. Calling on the R/T, I found that Lt Sheldon was missing. He was in a dive and too low to bail out when I last saw him. He had attacked a different battery than the one I called out to him.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1930 Census / Massachusetts Birth Index, www.fold3.com
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Luxembourg American Cemetery, WWII Draft Card, Saugus High School