Memorial

More information

S/Sgt Wymond B. Ridge was a chauffeur.

He enlisted in Indianapolis, Indiana on 14 January 1943.

This was a very long mission in distance and time, so fuel was a major concern. The group flew the same route to and from the target. The group was attacked on the way back from the target. Fighters attacked from every angle, about 12 FW-190's, over Laaland, Denmark at 1502 hours. Both inboard engines of the Iron Bird were on fire and the plane dove, trying to extinguish the flames. It pulled out of the dive, but crashed in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Laaland. The entire crew was killed.

All the men except Oxrider, Ridge and Hudson are commemorated on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge Cemetery, England. Oxrider's body was recovered at Gedser on 6 June 1944. Ridge's body washed up on shore near Romo/Odense on 23 June 1944 and was buried initially in Svino on 28 June 1944. Both were later reinterred at Ardennes Cemetery. Hudson's body was recovered on 8 August 1944 near Punitz. Although there is no record to indicate it, he may have been buried there and later reinterred at Ardennes. He is now buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, Erie County, New York.