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name
MADDOX, Alphus Otho - Date of
birth
3 March 1924 -
Age
20 -
Place of birth
Alabama -
Hometown
Houston, Winston County, Alabama
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
34703128 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
750th Bombardment Squadron,
457th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 March 1944 - Place of
death
Zauch-Belzig, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 13 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Arhtur E. Maddox (father)
Maggie C. (Efurd) Maddox (mother)
Edward J. Maddox (brother)
Marvin E. Maddox (brother)
Robert L. Maddox (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31595 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Flying Jenny
Destination: Berlin, Germany
MACR: 3198
More information
Alphus Maddox graduated from Columbia High School in 1942 and was a sheet metal worker.He enlisted at Fort McPherson, Georgia.
A tail gunner on a Flying Fortress, Sergeant Maddox arrived in England in February 1944 and went on his first mission March 4, according to a letter written to his parents that day, which was also his twentieth birthday. He was reported missing on his second mission, March 6, with a group of 73 bombers participating in a raid on Berlin.
On mission #8 on Mar 6th, 1944 another plane in the formation was rammed by a German fighter. The debris from the collision fell on Lt Whelan's plane and caused it to crash. All members of the crew were killed.
S/Sgt Alphus O. Maddox was initially buried at the cemetery of Brachwitz, Germany.
Source of information: Michel Beckers, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com The Dotham Eagle, 25 May 1943/ 31 March 1944 / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, www.findagrave.com, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org)
Photo source: Mireille Goedhart, www.findagrave.com, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org)