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name
GRAFF, Daniel J - Date of
birth
15 December 1917 -
Age
26 -
Place of birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois -
Hometown
Calumet City, Cook County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
36018473 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Engineer -
Unit
555th Bombardment Squadron,
386th Bombardment Group, Medium
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
5 October 1944 - Place of
death
Rethondes, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 21 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Daniel J. Graff (father)
Julia P. (Kowalski) Graff (mother)
Glendine Graff (sister)
Vivian J. Graff (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-34946 -
Data
Type: B-26C
Nickname: The Yankee Guerilla
Destination: Duren, Germany
Mission: Bombing of a military installation
MACR: 15252
More information
S/Sgt Daniel J. Graff enlisted in Chicago, Illinois on 9 April 1941 and served in Hawaii shortly after the war was declared. In October 1942, he was transferred to the Air Corps and returned to the U.S. for training after he arrived in England in August 1943.Maj Herbert Lowe: "Upon the return trip to France the pilot encountered difficulty in handling the aircraft which eventually became separated from the formation and later crashed into a vacant French home at Rethondes five miles northwest of Compiègne."
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery of Solers, France.
A memorial in Rethondes, France commemorates the aircrew of this crash.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Carla Mans, www.abmc.gov, www.findagrave.com, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Luczak Family Tree / U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, www.fold3.com
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Andy / DFR, www.newspapers.com - The Daily Calumet - 3 November 1944, The Homewood Cemetery