Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
ERLINGS, Lawrence William - Date of
birth
1 January 1924 -
Age
20 -
Place of birth
Cuyahoga County, Ohio -
Hometown
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio -
Ethnicity
White
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
15133816 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator -
Unit
748th Bombardment Squadron,
457th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
24 August 1944 - Place of
death
North Sea, off the coast of the islands of Pellworm en Amrum, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Anthony Erlings (father)
Margaret Erlings (mother)
John Erlings (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-97558 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Tis me Sugar
Destination: Weimar, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the airfield
MACR: 8200
More information
Sgt Lawrence W. Erlings graduated from West Technical High School and was employed by the National Carbon Company.His family immigrated to the US from the Netherlands.
He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio on 12 November 1942.
One report says that there were no fighters or flak and the plane simply left the formation and was not seen again.
Another report stated that it was hit by a lone fighter plane, lost two engines, went into a spin and later exploded at a lower altitude.
It is not entirely clear where the aircraft must have crashed, probably in the North Sea, near the islands of Pellworm or Amrum. This is based on the fact that the remains of one crew member, Robert P. Stewart, were found on the island of Pellworm, and that the remains of Paul J. Terjak washed ashore on the west coast of Amrum on 9 September 1944, where he was buried in the Neuer Friedhof that same day.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Ron Dirks, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Ohio Birth Index, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org)
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Ron Dirks, SC State Library, Family collection - courtesy of Peter Allard, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org)