Memorial

Biography

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Louis S. Prangle graduated from Kelvyn Park High School.

He had been in service 22 months, six of which were spent overseas.

The intended target was to bomb the marshalling yard of Chemnitz with 332 airplanes, but 38 attacked the airfield of Eger as a target of opportunity. According to the MACR, this airplane was part of these 38.

The airplane received a direct hit by flak about the radio room, which bent the ship into a V for a moment. It then broke in two sections, with the forward section going into the ground and exploding and with the tail section spinning slowly down. Several crews reported three bodies leaving the rear section, with only one parachute seen, which seemed to only open partially. Two men survived the crash and were taken prisoner, the remaining seven men were killed.

According to medical examinations of his remains, S/Sgt William C. Eckerle must have hit the ground very hard while landing with his parachute.

The killed crew members were first buried at a civilian cemetery in Kettenbach, Germany.