Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
MOLONEY, Joseph Francis - Date of
birth
30 June 1921 -
Age
22 -
Place of birth
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
11088023 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
351st Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
6 September 1943 - Place of
death
Lake Constance, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Epinal
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 2 | 13 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph F. Moloney (father)
Marguerite M. Moloney (mother)
Patricia Moloney (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30057 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Raunchy
Destination: Stuttgart, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the and ball bearing factory
MACR: 689
More information
S/Sgt Joseph F. Moloney attended Technical High School and graduated from the English High School in Boston and was employed by Pratt and Whitney before he volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Boston, Massachusetts on 27 August 1942.The aircraft was attacked by fighters. It managed to reach Switzerland where it ditched in Lake Constance at about 1030hrs, approximately 1.25 mile from shore. It floated for about four minutes and the entire crew escaped except S/Sgt Moloney as he had been killed by 20 mm fragments in his spine and back during the fighter attack.
On 5 October 1943 the Swiss raised the aircraft and recovered his body. He was interred at the cemetery of Bad Ragnaz and later removed to the community cemetery of Münsingen near Bern on 24 May 1944.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / WWII Draft Cards Young Men / 1940 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.findagrave.com – Albert Ledoux, www.newspapers.com – Springfield Evening Union - 9 October 1943
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Andy / Joe Mode, www.ancestry.com – U.S. School Yearbooks