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Personal info

Full name
BRUNSVOLD, Donald Dennis
Date of birth
15 March 1922
Age
22
Place of birth
Hanlontown, Worth County, Iowa
Hometown
Manly, Worth County, Iowa

Military service

Service number
17071215
Rank
Technical Sergeant
Function
Top Turret Gunner
Unit
749th Bombardment Squadron,
457th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
8 November 1944
Place of death
North Sea

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Nels M. Brunsvold (father)
Josephine O. (Roslien) Brunsvold (mother)
Olger S. Brunsvold (brother)
Brunell R. Brunsvold (brother)
Milferd O. Brunsvold (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-38064
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Arf & Arf
Destination: Merseburg, Germany
Mission: Objective Bombing
MACR: 10343

More information

The airplane collided in midair with another aircraft and subsequently fell in the water.

There was no enemy opposition. Propellers of another aircraft chewed into the fuselage of A/C 42-38064 from the underside, and A/C 42-38064 broke in two pieces, apparently just back of the radio room. The forward part went down in a steep glide for upwards of two minutes, then went into a spin and disappeared in the clouds. The tail part went down, not in a glide. No fires were seen.

Source of information: FOHF, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org), www.fold3.com - MACR, www.newspapers.com - The Mason City Globe-Gazette, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / WWII Bonus Case File

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org), www.newspapers.com - The Mason City Globe-Gazette