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Personal info

Full name
WHITE, Arthur Elmer
Date of birth
3 August 1916
Age
27
Place of birth
Moncton, Canada
Hometown
Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Military service

Service number
O-811480
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Co-Pilot
Unit
733rd Bombardment Squadron,
453rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
22 February 1944
Place of death
Lake Volkerak, 15 km northwest of Steenbergen, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Beverly E. White (father)
Florence M. (Ferguson) White (mother)
Doris T. White (sister)
John S. White (brother)
Gerald White (brother)
Kenneth U. White (brother)
Nancy E. (Walker) White (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
41-28615
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Ginnie
Destination: Gotha, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area
MACR: 2895

More information

Arthur E. White was born in Canada as Arthur Elmer Sprague and entered the United States as Arthur Elmer White. He arrived in Maine on 23 July 1927.

He enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 1 March 1941.

He was married to Nancy Ellis Walker on 23 February 1943.

177 B-24s are dispatched but they are recalled when 100 miles (160 km) inland. Since they were over Germany, they sought targets of opportunity but strong winds drove the bombers over The Netherlands and their bombs hit Enschede, Arnhem, Nijmegen and Deventer.

The aircraft was seen to be attacked hit by enemy aircraft and went down, probably by Hauptmann Herbert Huppertz of JG2. It hit the water and exploded. No parachutes were seen.

Only the remains of S/Sgt Richard C. Anderson were recovered. The other nine crew members are still missing in action and are remembered at the Walls of the Missing at Margraten Cemetery.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Arie-Jan van Hees, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Federal Naturalization Record

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - U.S. School Yearbooks, Medford High School, Massachusetts 1938