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Personal info

Full name
BRANAM, Leonard Melvin
Date of birth
24 August 1914
Age
29
Place of birth
McAlester, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma
Hometown
Dickinson County, Iowa

Military service

Service number
36353672
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Left Waist Gunner
Unit
339th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
16 December 1943
Place of death
Waddenzee approximately 2 miles northwest of Harlingen, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Stephen M. Branam (father)
Eula (Kight) Branam (mother)
Lawrence H. Branam (brother)
Lucille Branam (sister)
Goldie M. (Butler) Branam (wife)
Richard L. Branam (stepson)
Eleanor M. Branam (stepdaughter)

Plane data

Serial number
42-31113
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Zilch
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port
MACR: 1564

More information

S/Sgt Leonard M. Branam was a chauffeur and employed by the Henry Carlson company and Willers Truck service.

He enlisted in Chicago, Illinois on 24 June 1942 and left for overseas duty in April, 1943.

The airplane was attacked by enemy aircraft. One engine was knocked off the ship, falling on aircraft #42-30872. Both airplanes went down. No parachutes were seen.

The entire crew of both airplanes was killed.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Butler/Sigler Family Tree, www.8thafhs.com, www.newspapers.com - Argus-Leader

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com - Argus-Leader, www.ancestry.com - Patricia Johnson