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Submit- Full
name
DAHL, Raymond Alois - Date of
birth
21 July 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Scott County, Minnesota -
Hometown
Minneapolis, Scott County, Minnesota
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
17143916 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
551st Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 March 1945 - Place of
death
Southeast of Tiefensee, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 21 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Elmer Dahl (father)
Catherine (Budde) Dahl (mother)
Eugene Dahl (brother)
Thelma E. Dahl (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-6944 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the railroad station
MACR: 13147
More information
Raymond Dahl joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 1 May 1943.The airplane was hit by flak in the bomb bay and #2 engine just after bombs away. It pulled off to the right of the formation, then turned left before the Rally Point and passed through low squadron and out to the right of the bomber stream. It was then seen going down in a steep dive into the clouds. #2 engine was burning and there was a fire in the bomb bay.
S/Sgt Robert J. Oglan stayed in the plane to help Sgt Sol S. Lipschitz, the radio-operator, to get out while the rest of the crew bailed out.
Six crew members survived and were taken prisoner. Three men were killed, probably after they landed with their parachute.
After the war, S/Sgt Alvin Vaira, the nose gunner, stated that the next day he and Sgt Emil D. Beagini, a crew member of another shot down plane, were escorted by German guards to a lake near Tiefenessee where they were forced to undress the two dead bodies of fellow crew members, Sgt Sol S. Lipschitz and Sgt Robert J. Oglan. Sgt Lipschitz had been shot through the right groin with a 30-calibre size bullet, and had been beaten slightly about the head. His face was bloody and bruised, causing identification to be hard, but also was recognized by a part of a front gold tooth. Sgt Lipschitz's dog tags had been removed, that they had seen laying on a German officer's desk the day before.
Sgt Oglan had been beaten about the head and face so badly that he could not be recognized by his features except for a tremendous amount of black hair and his dog tags which were still on him. The parachute harnesses belonging to the two men were seen, and both showed evidence that their parachutes had opened because the two straps had the thread broken which holds them to the rest of the harness before the parachute opens.
The killed crew members were initially buried at the cemetery of Tiefensee, Germany.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, Minnesota Birth Index
Photo source: Peter Schouteten