Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
KEIRN, Roy Clayton Jr - Date of
birth
10 November 1917 -
Age
27 -
Place of birth
McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O1169594 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
391st Bombardment Squadron,
34th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
30 November 1944 - Place of
death
Sömmerda, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 14 | 23 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Roy C. Keirn (father)
Olive (Hitchens) Keirn (mother)
Nancy Keirn (sister)
Dorothy D. (Metzler) Keirn (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38059 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Merseburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Leuna oil plant
MACR: 10841
More information
Roy C. Keirn graduated from McKeesport High School.He enlisted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 24 March 1941.
The plane received a direct flak hit in the #2 engine just after bombs away. The aircraft violently slid under the formation, losing 2-3,000 feet in altitude. The engine caught fire, and the propeller was reported later as windmilling. About five minutes after being hit, the engine blew up and tore off the wing, sending the plane into a dive straight down.
Five crew members survived, and four of them were taken prisoner. One crew member evaded capture. Four men were killed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, Footnote, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Family Tree / Headstone and Interment Record / Veteran Compensation Application File
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Steve Cole/Yearbook for the Greenwood Army Air Field, Greenwood, Mississippi, U.S.A.