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Personal info

Full name
VANDERSTELT, Joseph
Date of birth
5 March 1917
Age
27
Place of birth
Muskegon Heights, Muskegon County, Michigan
Hometown
Muskegon Heights, Muskegon County, Michigan

Military service

Service number
36416921
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Waist Gunner
Unit
364th Bombardment Squadron,
305th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
5 December 1944
Place of death
Prenden, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 32 37

Immediate family

Members
Jan D. Vanderstelt (father)
Johanna M. (Teuling) Vanderstelt (mother)
Dirk D. Vanderstelt (brother)
Maud (VanderKooi) Vanderstelt (sister)
Gertrude (Smith) Vanderstelt (sister)
Jacob Vanderstelt (brother)
William Vanderstelt (brother)
Helen Vanderstelt (sister)
Henrietta Vanderstelt (sister)
Donna Vanderstelt (sister)
Joan Vanderstelt (sister)
John Vanderstelt (brother)
Genevieve N. Vanderstelt (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-39947
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Chiquita
Destinantion: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of munitions and tank plants
MACR: 11040

More information

Joseph Vanderstelt attended college for one year and was a carpenter.

He enlisted in Kalamazoo, Michigan on 31 December 1942.

The airplane was hit by a direct flak burst, breaking the fuselage in two.

The wreckage crashed close to Prenden, Germany. All nine crewmembers were killed. They were initially buried at the local cemetery of the town.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census / United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 / Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - geni.com