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name
HARGIS, Jack Arthur - Date of
birth
10 December 1920 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
San Joaquin County, California -
Hometown
San Joaquin, Sacramento County, California
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-734080 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
332nd Bombardment Squadron,
91st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
17 August 1943 - Place of
death
Montroeul-au-Bois, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| N | 7 | 9 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Arthur T. Hargis (father)
Melvina H. (Henning) Hargis (mother)
Lois J. Hargis (sister)
Virginia A. (Briggs) Hargis (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-2990 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Dame Satan
Destination: Schweinfurt, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the ball bearing factories
MACR: 277
More information
Jack Hargis graduated from Lodi High School in 1938 and attended Aero Technologies Technical School for two years. He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Stockton Field, California on 13 March 1942.According to crew members of other airplanes in the formation, this B-17 was hit by enemy aircraft, knocking out two engines. It rolled over as if both pilots had been killed and went down "as a ton of bricks". According to one of the surviving crew members, Lt Hargis bailed out, but his parachute didn't open.
Four crew members were taken prisoner, four men evaded capture, and two men were killed.
Lt Hargis is remembered on the northern border of Montroeul-au-Bois at Caillois, Belgium with a memorial monument. The monument was inaugurated on 12 September 1945, and pays tribute to three people who were killed on this hill including Jack Hargis, an American airmen whose plane was shot-gunned in August 1943.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.ancestry.com, www.91stbombgroup.com, MACR 277, FindaGrave.com
Photo source: Michel Beckers, Emmanuel Papin, Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot 42-K Minter California, www.ancestry.com, American War Memorials Overseas, Inc.