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Submit- Full
name
BAXTER, James Owen - Date of
birth
13 April 1922 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
Pomona, Franklin County, Kansas -
Hometown
Pomona, Franklin County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-766395 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
394th Fighter Squadron,
367th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
24 December 1944 - Place of
death
5 miles west of Trier, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes -
Tablets of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-23625 -
Data
Type: P-38J
Destination: Trier, Germany
Mission: Armed Reconnaissance
MACR: 11432
More information
James Baxter attended college.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on 18 September 1942.
Statement of 1st Lt Dwaine A. Tjomsland, who flew in the same mission: "On an armed reconnaissance mission over Trier, Germany, on 24 December 1944, we were jumped by two flights of twelve each FW190s. About two minutes after we were jumped, I observed a P38 in a thirty-five degree dive with flame coming from center nacelle. At a second glance a moment later, I observed an open chute in the same location. The chute could have been the P38 Pilot, Lt Defrance or Lt Baxter. I did not observe anyone leaving the plane."
In 1997, CILHI (now DPAA) and U.S. Army Memorial Affairs Activity-Europe personnel surveyed a crash site near Trier which had been found by an American national researching 1st Lt Baxter's loss. In 1999, a CILHI team excavated the site and recovered remains and personal effects, which were eventually identified as those of 1st Lt Baxter.
Lt Baxter is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Ponoma, Texas.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: FOHF, Kansas State University 1941, Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot 44-B Williams Fd Arizona, www.findagrave.com