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name
BYERS, Ralph E - Date of
birth
9 November 1923 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Covington, Garfield County, Oklahoma -
Hometown
Kay County, Oklahoma
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-766415 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
429th Fighter Squadron,
474th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 March 1945 - Place of
death
North of Sinzle, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| E | 6 | 32 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Benjamin Byers (father)
Ethel B. Byers (mother)
Grace W. Byers (sister)
Vera N. Byers (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-68092 -
Data
Type: P-38J-10
Destination: Remagen, Germany
Mission: Patrol
MACR: 13100
More information
“I was leading blue flight on patrol when I saw a FW 190 emerge from a flak concentration. Just after I initiated my peel off to chase him, I looked back and saw that my number four man had had his tail completely cut off about two feet forward of the horizontal stabilizer, as a result of a mid-air collision, and was in an irregular spin going down. I told him to bail out, but saw no chute open. We later received a report from the ground controller that a pilot had dropped in that area. The other ship in the collision returned safely.”
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot 44-B Williams Fd Arizona