Memorial

More information

2nd Lt Richard A. Wertheim had already served in the National Guard, before he volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States on 13 January 1942.

Lt Wertheim and his crew already made an emergency landing on their first mission after the plane had been hit by flak and attacked by fighters. They crashlanded in the North Sea and the entire crew was picked up by a minesweeper.
On 6 March 1944, on the way back, they were attacked by two German FW-190's. The crew managed to kill or wound one of the fighter pilots, but the fighter's plane careered on into the bomber, knocked off the right stabilizer and exploded into a cartwheel of flame. The huge fireball engulfed both attacker and victim and a searing wall of flame also caught a following fighter. It too burst into flames and all three aircraft went down with My Darling Also sliding away apparently still under some degree of control.

Two crew members managed to escape from the airplane before it exploded in mid-air. Eight men were killed.
Lt Wertheim's remains were found in the wooded area of Jävenitz, east of Letzlinger and was buried at the Jävenitz Cemetery as an unknown American flier. When an American grave registration unit recovered his and other crew members' remains, he was reburied as Unkown X-5802 at the Ardennes Cemetery. After his remains were distinterred, he could be identified by clothing markings, an identification tag and tooth chart. The identification process was finished on 9 February 1949.
Lt Richard A. Wertheim was given his final resting place at the Ardennes Cemetery in 1954.