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Submit- Full
name
CLEMENSEN, Richard L - Date of
birth
11 March 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Walla Walla County, Washington -
Hometown
Alameda County, California
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-763955 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
359th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
12 September 1944 - Place of
death
Bergsdorf, north of Berlin, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 36 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Loranza Clemensen (father)
Jessie I. (Tomlinson) Clemensen (mother)
Kenneth E. Clemensen (brother)
Robert E. Clemensen (brother)
Marjorie Clemensen (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31177 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Lonesome Polecat
Destination: Brux, Czechoslovakia
Mission: Bombing of the Sudetenlandische Treibstoffwerke A.G. - hydrogenation plant
MACR: 8823
More information
Richard Clemensen attended college and worked in a machine shop.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in San Francisco, California on 31 August 1942.
The formation was hit by seven fighter attacks between 1100 to 1130 hours. They made a hole in the front part of the wing close to #3 engine. Strips were flying off the wing. Another attack force the aircraft out of the formation and it slid off to the left and dropped down. The horizontal stabilizer was also hit and strips of metal were coming off. Then the wing caught fire. The aircraft appeared to be partially under control when last seen. It went down in a glide.
Four crew members were killed, five survived and were taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / 1940 Census
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.fold3.com, www.newspapers.com - Oakland Tribune