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Submit- Full
name
CHILDERS, Raymond Eugene - Date of
birth
14 November 1920 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Guymon, Texas County, Oklahoma -
Hometown
Englewood, Arapahoe County, Colorado
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-712159 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Bombardier -
Unit
729th Bombardment Squadron,
452nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
2 January 1945 - Place of
death
Bitburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| H | 3 | 57 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Benjamin B. Childers (father)
Mary R. (Wells) Childers (mother)
John B. Childers (brother)
Margaret E. Childers (sister)
Robert W. Childers (brother)
Helen D. (Petty) Childers (wife)
Barbara Childers (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38921 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Ehrang, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 11225
More information
1st Lt Raymond E. Childers attended collegeand worked in a petroleum refinery. He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Denver, Colorado on 15 October 1942.About 1 minute before bombs away, the aircraft received a direct hit between #1 and #2 engines, bending back the outer wing panel which hit the rudder, sending the plane into a flat spin. In the spin on the way down, the plane broke apart. One crew reported seeing parachutes, all the other crews reported no parachutes seen.
One crew member survived and was taken prisoner. The other eight crew members were killed.
He flew 13 missions.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.memorial.com, www.abmc.gov, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees, www.fold3.com - MACR
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - LuxAmCem, Hannah Majewski - Phyllis Giddings (niece)