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name
REESE, Vincent John - Date of
birth
13 January 1908 -
Age
36 - Place of
birth
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33468736 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
360th Bombardment Squadron,
303rd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
22 April 1944 - Place of
death
In a wood near Chimay, Belgium
Saint-Remy, east of Chimay, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| M | 21 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Margareth C. (Kichiszak) Reese (mother)
Anthony Glinko (stepfather)
John Reese (stepbrother)
Mary Reese (stepsister)
Clara Reese (stepsister)
Helen Reese (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-39795 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Woman's Home Companion
Destination: Ludwigshafen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the oil refinery of IG Farben
MACR: 1674
More information
Sgt Vincent J. Reese worked in the printing and publishing business.He enlisted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 16 November 1942.
On 30 December 1943 the B-17 made a crashlanding in a field at Froidchapelle near the Luxembourg-French-Belgian border. One engine burned out and the tail was hit by a rocket.
His crew members Sgt Lawrence B. Evans and Sgt Lyle W. Fitzgerald were killed and three others were wounded.
Sgt Reese joined the resistance after he evaded being captured. After being taken prisoner and interrogated, together with seven other American aviators and two resistance fighters, he was axecuted on 22 April 1944 in a forest near St. Remy, Belgium. A memorial to their memory was erected in 1999.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, 303rd Bomb Group, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1930 Census, www.fold3.com - WWII Registration Card / MACR
Photo source: 303rd Bomb Group