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name
LENTZ, Ralph Henry Jr - Date of
birth
23 January 1922 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-707285 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
603rd Bombardment Squadron,
398th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
23 January 1945 - Place of
death
Düsseldorf-Heerdt, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 19 | 1 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Ralph H. Lentz (father)
Kathryn Lentz (sister)
Phyllis (Nichnis) Lentz (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-8224 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Neuss, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards and the Neuss bridge
MACR: 11799
More information
Lt Ralph H. Lentz graduated from Muhlenberg College with the bachelor degree in philosophy in June 1943.Soon after his graduation, he joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to Nashville and there was classified for the navigator school at Selman Field. Later he took a course in gunnery at Fort Myers and then went back to Selman for advanced flight training. It was there he received his commission.
While on the bomb run, about one minute before bombs away, the airplane received a direct hit by flak in the right wing, approximately 15 feet from the wing tip. This section fell off almost immediately. The airplane was seen to fell over the left and do a split S down into the clouds and was not seen thereafter. One crew reports seeing a portion of left wing break off; also reports fire in the cockpit. Neither of these observations borne out by other crews.
1st Lt Lentz Jr. was on his 25th mission. He was initially buried on north Cemetery in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, Lebanon Daily News - 9 February 1945, WWII Draft Card, 1930 US Census
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Dominique Potier / Joel Gilfert, www.ancestry.com - Muhlenberg College Yearbook 1943