Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
ANDERSON, Byron Donald - Date of
birth
23 April 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-823779 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
525th Bombardment Squadron,
379th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
5 November 1944 - Place of
death
Essershausen, south Weilburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 41 | 34 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Byron T. Anderson (father)
Bernice Anderson (mother)
Katheryn Anderson (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-37932 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Spratt-O-Liner
Destination: Frankfurt, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yard
MACR: 10353
More information
1st Lt. Byron D. Anderson enlisted in Nashville, Tennessee on 11 April 1943.Two engines were shot out by flak. The airplane exploded in mid-air and parts were scattered about 8 km of each other. According to statements of the other crew members, who all were taken prisoner, 1st Lt Anderson bailed out a split second before the airplane blew up. It is possible that something struck him and made it impossible for him to open his parachute. It is also possible that he became victim of hostile German civilians who may have killed him. He was initially buried at the community cemetery of Ernsthausen.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Veteran Compensation Application File / 1940 Census
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Storiesbehindthestars.org