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Personal info

Full name
KESSELMAYER, Donald Joe "Bud"
Date of birth
10 January 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Holgate, Henry County, Ohio
Hometown
Holgate, Henry County, Ohio

Military service

Service number
15354709
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer
Unit
749th Bombardment Squadron,
457th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
9 April 1944
Place of death
5 miles northeast of Schleswig, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
C 6 57

Immediate family

Members
Ervin Kesselmayer (father)
Katherine Kesselmayer (mother)
Janice Kesselmayer (sister)
Norma Kesselmayer (sister)
Dorwood Kesselmayer (brother)
Darrel Kesselmayer (brother)
James Kesselmayer (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-31629
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Posen-Krzesiny, Poland
Mission: Bombing of the Focke-Wulf aviation industry
MACR: 3664

More information

S/Sgt Donald J. Kesselmayer was a clerk.

He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Camp Perry, Lacarne, Ohio.

The aircraft was shot down by Fw190s. Three crew members were taken prisoner, and seven were killed. They were initially buried at the Militär Friedhof at the Husumerstrasse in Schleswig.

S/Sgt Donald J. Kesselmayer is remembered with a memorial marker at Saint Johns Cemetery in Holgate, Henry County, Ohio.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, WWII Draft Card, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org)

Photo source: Jac Engels, Homepage - The 457th Bomb Group (H) Association (457thbombgroupassoc.org), www.findagrave.com