Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
SCHAEFFLER, Albert Clarence - Date of
birth
17 February 1922 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Tangier, Woodward County, Oklahoma -
Hometown
Woodward, Woodward County, Oklahoma
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38149879 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
368th Bombardment Squadron,
306th 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
Nijverdalseberg, The Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 17 | 17 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Fred C. Schaeffler (father)
Emma A. (Lucas) Schaeffler (mother)
Josephine Schaeffler (sister)
Esther Schaeffler (sister)
Marion A. Schaeffler (sister)
Orlean Schaeffler (sister)
Faye T. Schaeffler (sister)
William E. Schaeffler (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30782 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Rationed Passion
Destination: Halberstadt, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Junkers aviation industry
MACR: 1931
More information
S/Sgt Albert C. Schaeffler was a farmer. He enlisted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on 17 July 1942.The plane was hit and was damaged at the leading edge of the right wing and had 20mm holes in the nose and at the base of the vertical stabilizer.
Eight crew members bailed out at 18,000 feet , two were killed.
The aircraft didn´t explode while striking the ground. It was broken into two parts and spread out considerably.
Three crew members, Orian G. Owens, Charles A. Nichols and John J. Gemborski were being helped by the Belgian resistance and were captured near Charleroi, Belgium. After interrogation they were executed in a forest near St. Remy, Belgium on 22 April 1944, along with other American aviators and two resistance fighters. A memorial to their memory was erected in 1999.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com - Welsch Family Tree / - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, www.fold3.com MACR
Photo source: Michel Beckers, www.findagrave.com - Tx Oma, www.306bg.com