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name
COVEL, Orlin Eugene - Date of
birth
14 September 1922 -
Age
21 -
Place of birth
Slaterville Springs, Tompkins County, New York -
Hometown
Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
15118784 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
334th Bombardment Squadron,
95th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
25 August 1944 - Place of
death
Stettin, Poland
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Leo S. Covel (father)
Mildred A. (Warren) Covel (mother)
Jane E. Covel (sister)
Warren L. Covel (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-6085 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Politz, Poland
Mission: Bombing of the oil refinery
MACR: 8279
More information
S/Sgt Orlin E. Covel graduated from Canadaigua Academy in 1941 and was a student at Miami University.He joined the U.S. Army Reserve in Cincinnati, Ohio on 12 October 1942 and was sent overseas on 10 July 1944.
The airplane was hit by flak directly in the n° 3 main fuel tank over the target. The wing came off almost immediately and after dropping several thousand feet, it broke into at least three parts. Crew members of other bombers saw the airplane explode and the pieces fell into Stettin Lake.
Probably not all pieces fell into the lake because German records mention that wreckage was found some 2 km south of Stettin. Also Sgt Covel 's remains were found in the ball turret.
Seven crew members survived and were taken prisoner, three men were killed.
After the war, American investigators found several graves of American airmen at different civilian and military cemeteries in the area, most of them buried as unknown. These remains were evacuated to the identification center at Ardennes Cemetery but not one of them could be identified as being of Sgt Covel.
Sgt Covel is also remembered at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua, New York.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com, www.newspaperarchive.com - Canandaigua Daily Messenger, IDPF
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Mariusz, 95 BG Memorial Foundation via Arie-Jan van Hees, www.ancestry.com - Canandaigua Academy Yearbook 1941