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Personal info

Full name
DEERING, Robert Patrick
Date of birth
11 March 1920
Age
23
Place of birth
Denver, Denver County, Colorado
Hometown
Denver, Denver County, Colorado

Military service

Service number
O-741888
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
533rd Bombardment Squadron,
381st Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
30 January 1944
Place of death
East of Ottbergen, on the road to Wöhle, six miles east of Hildesheim, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
D 10 11

Immediate family

Members
Henry P. Deering (father)
Stella E. (Egan) Deering (mother)
Myrna Deering (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-31047
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Little Duchess aka Wolverine
Destination: Brunswick, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 2243

More information

Robert Deering attended high school for four years and was employed by the Rocky Mountain News Company.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States on 21 March 1942.

The airplane was attacked by enemy aircraft near Hildesheim, Germany. The aircraft went into a spin and exploded.

Two men were blown out of the plane by the explosion and survived. The remaining eight crew members were killed. They were initially buried at the communicy cemetery of Ottbergen.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, Carla Mans, www.abmc.gov www.fold3.com - WWII Draft Card / MACR, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1940 Census

Photo source: Nico Leers, Paul Meier