Missing information?

Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?

Submit

Personal info

Full name
THOMPSON, James Merlin
Date of birth
24 April 1914
Age
29
Place of birth
Jesup, Wayne County, Georgia
Hometown
Duval County, Florida

Military service

Service number
34353849
Rank
Technical Sergeant
Function
Top Turret Gunner
Unit
338th Bombardment Squadron,
96th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
20 December 1943
Place of death
In a sand dune near the Coastal Radio Station
Norderney, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
D 17 17

Immediate family

Members
Eleazer A. Thompson (father)
Mattie B. (Martin) Thompson (mother)
Ethel Thompson (sister)
R.J. Thompson (brother)
Helen Thompson (wife)
James R. Thompson (son)

Plane data

Serial number
42-3288
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Operational
MACR: 1704

More information

#2 Engine exploded and the aircraft crashed on the second Island off the coast of Germany, one of the Frisian Islands.

T/Sgt Thompsondidn´t bail out. He was hit by a 20mm and was believed to be killed instantly. He was recovered dead and buried on the military cemetery Norderney on 22 December 1943.

Source of information: Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, WWII Draft Card, 1920 US Census

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Mike & Nancy Ridgbill