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Submit- Full
name
SPARKS, Harold Eugene - Date of
birth
2 January 1913 -
Age
30 - Place of
birth
Bartholomew County, Indiana -
Hometown
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35493122 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Turret Gunner/Engineer -
Unit
412th Bombardment Squadron,
95th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
11 December 1943 - Place of
death
North Sea, off the coast of Langenoog, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Stephen S.H. Sparks (father)
Ethel P. (Moses) Sparks (mother)
Frederic J. Sparks (brother)
Carl H. Sparks (brother)
Dorothy M. Sparks (sister)
Ruby K. Sparks (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30182 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Blondie II
Destination: Emden, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the industrial area
MACR: 1562
More information
S/Sgt Harold E. Sparks worked in a warehouse.He enlisted in Louisville, Kentucky, on 12 September 1942.
Statement from David E. Olsson, 1st Lt, Air Corps, Asst. Operations Officer:
"B-17, 42-30182, piloted by 2nd Lt J.D. Moore, was last seen near the enemy coast, with No. 4 engine on fire. Six chutes were seen to leave the ship."
The airplane ditched off the coast of Langeoog. The entire crew of ten men was killed. Their remains were never recovered. Eight of them are remembered on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. Two, Frank Abbadessa and Leonard Eaton, are remembered on the Walls of the Missing at Cambridge Cemetery.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com
Photo source: Arie-Jan van Hees