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name
BOYETTE, James A - Date of
birth
4 April 1920 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Wheeler County, Georgia -
Hometown
Ben Hill County, Georgia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
14058018 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
422nd Bombardment Squadron,
305th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 January 1943 - Place of
death
In the near vicinity of the monument for this crew at the crossing of Clamarastraat and Burgweg
Groene Boomgaard, Pollinkhove, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 31 | 42 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Henry G. Boyette (father)
Frema P. Boyette (mother)
Loyd Boyette (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-24601 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Buckeye Blitz
Destination: Lille, France
Mission: Bombing of the Atelier D'Hellemes railroad factory
MACR: 15639
More information
Sgt James A. Boyette was employed at A & P Tea Co.He joined the Regular Army in Jacksonville, Florida on 1 October 1941.
At 14.40 in the vicinity of Diksmuide, Belgium, the airplane took a direct hit from the guns of the Fw 190 of Unteroffizier Erich Scheyda of 3./JG26.
All ten crew members were killed when the plane blew up in the air.
A German salvage crew arrived at the crash scene at Pollinkhove and could identify the pilot, Lt. Conrad Hilbinger, the co-pilot, 2nd LT Robert Anderson, the bombardier 2nd Lt Arthur Halbrooks, the ball turret gunner, S/Sgt Hugh Erwin and the engineer, S/Sgt Vane Brown. The next day, they were buried in a common grave, together with three unidentified bodies at the cemetery of Pollinkhove. These bodies must have been the remains of S/Sgt Parise, S/Sgt Anderson and 2nd Lt John Kelliher. The next day, the bodies of S/Sgt Robert Dickson and S/Sgt James Boyette were found in the wreckage. They were buried along their comrades on 20 January. Members of 5./Flak Regiment 53 served as honor guard.
At the place of the crash in the Clamarastraat in Pollinkhove, a statue remembers those fallen airmen.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Russ Pickett