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Personal info

Full name
MC DONALD, Jim W
Date of birth
18 May 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Tahoka, Lynn County, Texas
Hometown
Lynn County, Texas

Military service

Service number
18074111
Rank
Technical Sergeant
Function
Crew Chief
Unit
88th Squadron,
438th Troop Carrier Group
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
23 December 1944
Place of death
Isle-le-Pré, southwest of Bastogne, Belgium

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
Plot Row Grave
H 10 52

Immediate family

Members
William P. Mc Donald (father)
Ruth Mc Donald (mother)
Betty Mc Donald (sister)
Mary L. Mc Donald (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-92087
Data
Type: C-47A
Destination: Bastogne, Belgium
Mission: Re-supply drop
MACR: 11024

More information

Jim Mc Donald attended high school for four years and worked on a farm.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Lubbock, Texas on 31 December 1941.

On the run to the drop zone, for reasons unknown, the airplane went into a power dive and crashed with the loss of the entire crew of four.

Statement from S/Sgt Alfred H. Chartier, crew member of another plane in the group:
"I was Radio Operator in plane number 43-15499. I was on my knees in the process of pushing out the last para-pack from the plane when my attention was attracted by the rear of engines. I looked up and saw plane number 42-92087 nose down and go into a vertical dive towards the ground. Visibility was good, there was light snow on the ground and I was able to follow the plane all the way down and saw it hit and explode with flames shooting up approximately fifty feet in the air. During the plane descent, I saw no one leave the ship."

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census / Texas, U.S. Birth Certificates

Photo source: Peter Schouteten