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name
SAYE, Roy Lee - Date of
birth
5 February 1911 -
Age
32 - Place of
birth
Cherokee County, Georgia -
Hometown
Polk County, Florida
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
34404301 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
548th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Distiguished Flying Cross,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
29 November 1943 - Place of
death
Near Fesenfeld, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 10 | 9 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William L. Saye (father)
Maude E. (Lowery) Saye (mother)
Charles C. Saye (brother)
Paul W. Saye (brother)
Jackson L. Saye (brother)
John W. Saye (brother)
Thomas G. Saye (brother)
Leonard E. Saye (brother)
Susie (Little) Saye (wife)
Edward Saye (son)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30204 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Gremlin's Buggy
Destination: Bremen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port area
MACR: 1581
More information
S/Sgt Roy L. Saye worked at a fruit farm.He enlisted at Camp Blanding, Florida on 30 September 1942.
The airplane was hit by flak. Five crew members were taken prisoner, and five were killed.
They were initially buried at the Memorial Cemetery for Enemy Dead at Diepholz on 30 November 1943.
Statement from 1st Lt. Robert A. Payne, co-pilot:
"I do not have much knowledge of these boys, as I was in the ship on the flight deck most of the trip. As previously stated before, I went back to the bomb bay for a few minutes as we passed over France, and all seemed well and in good spirits. When the time came to leave the plane, I went down in the nose and got the bombardier out, as he seemed dazed and at a loss as to what to do. It is my impression that the pilot, knowing that I had gone down to the nose, should have gone back through the plane to get out and at the same time seen how and if the other men had heard his signal to get out; also, the condition that these men were in. From all I could gather from those of us that are alive, the plane had been hit pretty hard around the radio room and that it is very possible that the radio opp. and ball gunner had been killed. The ball gunner called up on the interphone just before we were hit and said, 'they are bursting right beneath us,' then all went dead as we found we had gotten into a bit of trouble. As for the rest we felt that they were either dead or killed in the crash, although after the treatment I got on the ground the Germans were in the frame of mind to kill them if they were still alive."
The plane crashed in a forest and was mostly burned up.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Rik Verhelle, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.ancestry.com, hellothomas.org
Photo source: www.ancestry.com, Peter Schouteten