Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
KENNON, Wyatt Stanley - Date of
birth
27 January 1916 -
Age
27 - Place of
birth
Arlington County, Virginia -
Hometown
Washington, District Of Columbia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-661636 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
67th Bombardment Squadron,
44th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
14 May 1943 - Place of
death
Near Embühren, district Rendsburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 20 | 2 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Wyatt S. Kennon (father)
Jennie N. (Ramsey) Kennon (mother)
Frances M. Kennon (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-40126 -
Data
Type: B-24D
Nickname: Annie Oakley “Crack Shot”
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the submarine yards and naval installations
MACR: 2441
More information
1st Lt Kennon graduated from Newport News High School and attended the University of Maryland, College Park, and was a reporter, sports editor and radio sports commentator.He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Richmond, Virginia, on 7 November 1941. He trained as an aviation cadet at Maxwell Field, Alabama, and in Florida and Texas. He was sent overseas on 12 February 1943.
The aircraft was shot down by a German fighter near Embühren. Two crew members bailed out. 1st Lt Louis L. Kissinger was captured. 1st Lt Wyatt S. Kennon’s parachute landed in Feldmark Gross-Vollstedt and he was later shot while trying to escape. The Pilot, 1st Lt Roach died of his wounds in a hospital at Rendsburg, Germany.
Six completely charred bodies were recovered at the crash site of the downed American aircraft on 17 May 1943. They were initially buried at the cemetery of Neumünster South on 18 May 1943.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com – MACR, www.ancestry.com – Headstone and Interment Record / Family Tree / Virginia Birth Index, www.newspapers.com - The Bee
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com – Yearbook University of Maryland 1937, www.newspapers.com - Daily Press 24 May 1943