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name
HILTON, Thomas Bradford - Date of
birth
3 November 1918 -
Age
25 -
Place of birth
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York City, New York -
Hometown
Larchmont, Westchester County, New York -
Ethnicity
White
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-814901 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
338th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 April 1944 - Place of
death
Baltic Sea, near the Bomholm Islands, Denmark
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 25 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph C. Hilton (father)
Margaret L. (Williams) Hilton (mother)
Sylvia Hilton (sister)
Joseph Hilton (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-29939 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Posnan, Poland
MACR: 3810
More information
2nd Lt Thomas B. Hilton attended Pomfret Rectory School and graduated from McGill University in 1940. He was employed with the Anaconda Wire and Cable Company.He enlisted on 5 March 1943 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The airplane was attacked by German fighters and crashed into the Baltic Sea not far from the island of Bornholm. 2nd Lt Thomas Bradford Hilton washed ashore near Warnemünde, Germany, and was laid to rest in Rostock-Warnemünde New cemetery. Only one man, a waist gunner, survived and was rescued by a German patrol boat. He spent the rest of the war as a POW. All other crew members were reported killed or missing.
Lt Hilton is remembered at Yarmouth Mountain Cemetery in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada with a memorial marker.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwmemorial.com, www.archives.gov, WWII Draft Card, 1940 US Census, Wartime Heritage Association
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, The Daily Tomes - 18 July 1945, www.findagrave.com - DAV