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name
HOY, Jim F - Date of
birth
9 March 1923 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Fort Benning, Georgia -
Hometown
Montgomery County, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
13035324 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Left Waist Gunner -
Unit
358th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 January 1944 - Place of
death
Herzberg am Harz, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 11 | 11 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Thomas A. Hoy (father)
Mary A. (Crowley) Hoy (mother)
Tom H. Hoy (twin brother)
Mary E. Hoy (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30865 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Oschersleben, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the AGO-Fucke-Wulf aviation industry
MACR: 1927
More information
S/Sgt Jim F. Hoy joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army on 7 August 1941 in Roanoke, Virginia.His father was in the military as a career, retiring with the rank of a Colonel which caused many moves throughout S/Sgt Foy's youth.
T/Sgt Stan Backiel, top turret gunner and surviving crew member stated after the war: "The plane was under enemy attack for about 20 minutes, most of the time out of formation and gradually losing altitude. We received the bail out order by bell. I noticed that the oxygen and probably the hydraulic oil were on fire just behind the pilot- and bomb bay area. All plexiglas in the nose section was gone. It was very windy and chaos in the nose area and I saw both pilots still in their seats as I bailed out."
Four crew members survived and were taken prisoner, six were killed.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Records, 1930 census, U.S., Select Military Registers
Photo source: Michel Beckers, www.303rdBG.com, Chicago Tribune - 12 February 1944