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name
CARLSON, Birger Conrad - Date of
birth
30 August 1918 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Stora Tuna, Borlänge, Dalarna County, Sweden -
Hometown
Essex County, New Jersey
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-800468 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
333rd Bombardment Squadron,
94th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 March 1944 - Place of
death
At the Grosser Stern
Berlin-Grunewald, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 18 | 2 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Conrad W. Carlson (father)
Celia (Blomgren) Carlson (mother)
Bert W. Carlson (brother)
Darlene M. (Christensen) Carlson (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31637 -
Data
Type: B-17
Nickname: Athenian Avenger
Destination: Oranienburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Heinkel aviation industry
MACR: 3535
More information
1st Lt Birger C. Carlson was a mechanic before he volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Newark, New Jersey on 17 March 1942.Because of cloud cover, the primary target could not be bombed and therefore the secundary target, the city of Berlin, was attacked.
The plane received two or three direct flak bursts over the target, the tail broke off at the waist and the plane shot up about 100 feet before diving straight down crashing at 1325 hrs. The entire crew was killed.
Lt Carlson was initially buried at the POW Cemetery in Elsgrund-Doberitz. His remains were disinterred at the end of November, beginning of December 1946 and evacuated to Ardennes Cemetery
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1930 Census, WWII Draft Card, Iowa, Marriage Records
Photo source: Peter Schouteten