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name
FITZGERRELL, Robert Johnson "Bob" - Date of
birth
2 May 1912 -
Age
32 - Place of
birth
Benton, Franklin County, Illinois -
Hometown
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
18160898 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
I Company,
3rd Battalion,
311th Infantry Regiment,
78th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
30 January 1945 - Place of
death
Huppenbroich, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Charles A. Fitzgerrell (father)
Mattie M. Fitzgerrell (mother)
Chas Fitzgerrell (brother)
More information
Robert Fitzgerell was a musician.One picture shows him at the far right with the group the Ariel Aces who was the first orchestra in the world to broadcast from an airplane. The women in the picture were known as "The Cheesecake Girls".
He was also a drummer with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. He joined the band in 1941, taking the place of previous drummer Gene Tomlins who went into the service.
Bob was a swing drummer and had been favorably compared with Ray Baduc of Bos Crosby's Bobcats. Musician Woodie Wood stated that "Fitzgerald was the best drummer I ever worked with in my life. He was the softest-talking, meekest, mildest little guy and would get behind those drums and turn into a tiger".
Bob was the drummer Bob Wills used on the July 14-16 1942 recording sessions make in Hollywood, California. It appears there were nineteen selections recorded with him as the drummer, notably such tunes as "Drop Us Off At Bob´s Place", "Home in San Antone", "That Hot Lick Fiddlin´Man", "Liberty", "Miss Molly", "You´re From Texas", "Goodbye Liza Jane", "My Confession", "Ten Years", "Let´s Ride with Bob" and several others.
T/Sgt Robert J. Fitzgerrell volunteered for the Army of the United States in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 15 September 1942.
Source of information: Robert Bishop, Peter Schouteten, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men,
www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record
Photo source: Astrid van Erp, Robert Bishop, Greg FitzGerrell