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name
ROBERTS, Raymond Clifford - Date of
birth
20 March 1920 -
Age
23 -
Place of birth
New Baden, Clinton County, Illinois -
Hometown
New Baden, Clinton County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
T-120450 -
Rank
Flight Officer -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
555th Bombardment Squadron,
386th Bombardment Group, Medium
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 December 1943 - Place of
death
Aalsmeer, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| M | 12 | 9 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Otto H. Roberts (father)
Malinda A. (Driscoll) Roberts (mother)
Edwin G. Roberts (brother)
Katherine M. Roberts (sister)
Herman J. Roberts (brother)
Ester E. Roberts (sister)
Margareta R. Roberts (sister)
Ralph W. Roberts (brother)
Clinton W. Roberts (brother)
Roy A. Roberts (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-31625 -
Data
Type: B-26B
Nickname: Hell's Fury
Destination: Schiphol, the Netherlands
Mission: Bombing of the airfield
MACR: 1413
More information
F/O Raymond C. Roberts enlisted in Camp Grant, Illinois on 23 September 1941.Directly over the target, the airplane was hit by flak just inboard the left engine. The plane immediately burst into flames, the fuselage being swept by fire from front to tail. The left wing broke off at the root of the wing and soon after the right wing broke off at the fuselage. The remaining skeleton fusilage disintegrated.
The pilot was catapulted in his seat out of the plane by an explosion and could open his parachute. He was the only survivor and was taken prisoner.
The other six crew members were killed. They were initially buried at the New Eastern Cemetery of Amsterdam on 17 December 1943.
Source of information: André Koch, Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR 1413, http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/APG/2009-04/1238907674, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Arie-Jan van Hees, www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Scott Feist, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Aalsmeer_Monument_Hells_Fury.jpg