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Submit- Full
name
MARION, Leonard H - Date of
birth
5 March 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Gary, Lake County, Indiana -
Hometown
Cook County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-436481 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
550th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
28 July 1943 - Place of
death
North Sea, off Heligoland, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 37 | 9 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Leopold Marion (father)
Pelagija "Bessie" H (Rutza) Marion (mother)
F William Marion (brother)
Mary Ann H Marion (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30285 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Oschersleben, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Focke Wulf aviation industry
MACR: 189D
More information
2nd Lt Leonard H Marion was a shipping clerk.Airplane 42-30257, 42-3316 and 42-30285 were flying in an echelon on a combat mission. Off Heligoland, at a time when visibility was poor, ship 30257 was struck by flak at a point in the fuselage about where the Navigator sits. Part of the fuselage was blown away and the plane was thrown up into ship 42-3316. These two planes locked together for probably 30 seconds and fell into ship 42-30285. All went down together and blew up.
The plane was split into two just behind the pilot's and co-pilot’s seats. The co-pilot (2nd Lt Henry A. Wilczyk) and the pilot (1st Lt John H. Noel) went out an opening, after the collision. They fell in the North Sea, about 50 miles northwest of the Frisian Island Chain. Both were picked up 6 hours later by a German patrol plane. The other eight crew members were killed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com - Indiana, Birth Certificates, 1907-1940, United States Census, 1940
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com - Chicago Daily Tribune - 28 December 1943, www.ancestry.com - Hyde Park Career Academy High School of 1938