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name
JOHNSTON, Charles E - Date of
birth
16 November 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-799782 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
410th Bombardment Squadron,
94th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 March 1944 - Place of
death
Near Wieste, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 41 | 43 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Katherine C. Johnston (mother)
James J. Johnston (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-38022 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Jeanne
Destination: Berlin, Germany
MACR: 2977
More information
Pilot, Lt. Charles E. Johnston, jumped without a chute in the same area as the rest of the crew. The navigator, Lt. Paul J. Sullivan said the pilot had been injured and had no parachute. They bailed out of the nose compartment together with the navigators parachute. The pilot lost his hold when the chute opened. Sullivan saw his body after it had hit the ground. T/Sgt Richard A. Elliott saw Lt. Johnston´s body after he was captured, in the vicinity of the plane crash, near Oldenburg, Germany.According to eye-witness-statements the plane was completely destroyed by hitting a tree, when making an emergency landing.
The Pilot and Co-Pilot were both initially buried in the Cemetery of Hahn.
1st Lt Charles E. Johnston first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Ardennes, Belgium Block GG, Row 1, Grave 19.
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, www.findagrave.com - Patti Johnson /Milton Hershey School Year Book ~Class of 1939
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Patti Johnson /Milton Hershey School Year Book ~Class of 1939