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name
KLEINHENZ, Charles S - Date of
birth
8 August 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
New York -
Hometown
Nunda, Livingston County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
42027209 -
Rank
Corporal -
Function
Gunner -
Unit
721st Bombardment Squadron,
450th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
17 October 1944 - Place of
death
Leopoldsdorf near Vienna, Austria
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 29 | 11 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles K. Kleinhenz (father)
Elsie Kleinhenz (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-51566 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destintation: Vienna-Saurerwerke, Austria
Mission: Combat
MACR: 9215
More information
Cpl Charles S. Kleinhenz enlisted in Buffalo, New York on 17 November 1943.He was noted as single, without dependents.
"On 17 October 1944 our group was on a mission to bomb the target at Vienna, Austria. I was flying as navigator in ship number 804 in the number seven position of the first box of the second attack unit. Lieutenant Majica was flying ship number 42-51566 in the number five position of the second box of the first attack unit. Over the target there was intense and accurate flak. Lieutenant Mojica´s aircraft received a direct hit on his right wing and the tip of the wing broke off. Immediately a men bailed out of the nose of the ship. The ship fell into a flat spin and dropped about two thousand feet. Then two more crew members bailed out. All three parachutes opened. When I last saw the aircraft, it was still in a flat spin. The altitude was approximately sixteen thousand feet. The time was 1225 and the coordinates were 4818N-1628E."
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.findagrave.com, www.fold3.com
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Michel Beckers/www.450thbg.com