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name
TAYLOR, Roger L - Date of
birth
1915 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Massachusetts -
Hometown
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-531331 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
566th Bombardment Squadron,
389th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
30 December 1943 - Place of
death
2 miles southeast of La Horgne, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes - unknown
Immediate family
-
Members
Harold A. Taylor (father)
Amy E. Taylor (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-7766 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: Heavy Date
Destination: Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
MACR: 1974
More information
1st Lt. Roger L. Taylor enlisted at Fort Devens, Massachusetts on 3 August 1942.The pilot had to feather an engine and soon lagged behind the formation. He peeled of and headed back towards England, apparently under control when last seen. They were attacked by two ME110s at 11:50 hours and went down. 1st Lt. Eldon N. Colby states: "Lt. Taylor was last seen as he left the airplane when we bailed out near Charleville, France after fighter attacks had knocked out two engines and the plane was burning badly. At the time Lt. Taylor bailed out he was okay. Ten chutes were counted by crew members. However, after hitting the ground, none of us have heard of Lt. Roger L. Taylor. We were all under the impression that he was a prisoner of war until we arrived back in the States and found out that his parents had never heard from him."
Source of information:Terry Hirsch, www.389thbombgroup.com, WWIImemorial, NARA, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / 1930 Census / United States World War II Army Enlistment Records
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - John Dowdy / Colby Family, Braintree High School 1938