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name
LINK, Jack Edward - Date of
birth
16 January 1916 -
Age
28 - Place of
birth
Akron, Summith County, Ohio -
Hometown
Akron, Summit County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-364458 -
Rank
Captain -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
339th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
12 May 1944 - Place of
death
Hahnstätten, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| O | 6 | 15 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles E. Link (father)
Nell (Cullen) Link (mother)
Mary K. Link (sister)
Thomas H. Link (brother)
Jeanette (Hopkins) Link (wife)
Joanne Link (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97167 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Brux, Czech Republic
Mission: Bombing of the Sudetenlandische-Treibstoffwerke A.G. - hydrogenation plant
MACR: 4858
More information
Capt Jack Link was a graduate of Buchtel High School and attended the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. He worked at the accounting department at City Hospital.The airplane was shot down by enemy fighters. Before it crashed, it clipped a rooftop of a hous in the village of Hahnstätten and then plumetted into a hillside about 50 yards further. It burst into flames immediately. Attemps were made to save the crew but extreme heat prevented villagers from getting too close. Instead the villagers waited and, after the bodies were recovered, they were taken to a local churchyard and buried in a common grave. A white marble marker was placed at the gravesite with the numbers of the men, taken from their dog tags. The villagers took care of the grave very well and even placed flowers.
Nine crew members were killed. Only the navigator, Robert Rieckelman, survived and was taken prisoner.
On 5 March 1946, the remains were evacuated to Margraten.
Brux was a German city during the war. Now it is called Most and is situated in the Czech Republic.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees, www.newspapers.com - The Akron Beacon Journal, www.fold3.com - MACR
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - University of Akron Yearbook 1937, www.newspapers.com - The Akron Beacon Journal