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name
ERBY, Philip August - Date of
birth
15 March 1923 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Evanston, Cook County, Illinois -
Hometown
Evanston, Cook County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-829960 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
343rd Fighter Squadron,
55th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
17 April 1945 - Place of
death
Over Kamenz airdrome, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Alfred Garr (Friend)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-15025 -
Data
Type: P-51D
Nickname: Beautiful Lavina
Destination: Dresden, Germany
Mission: Bomber escort
MACR: 13920
More information
Eyewitness:"Lieutenant Erby was on my wing when we made the bounce on two FW 190s that had just taken off from Kamenz airfield. I took the one on the left, and he took the one on the right. They were flying line abreast at 1,000 meters. We came down on them from 3,000 meters and attacked, from dead astern. We both knocked them down at about the same time. I watched his 190 crash, just south of mine, in a woods near a lake. It exploded and burned upon crashing.
Suddenly, I was hit by flak, so I called Lieutenant Erby and told him I was heading for Russian lines. He called over and said, 'Wait for me, I've been hit and am leaking coolant.' He called about four minutes later and said he was going to bail out. I couldn't see him due to a bad haze that greatly limited visibility. He never called again, and I could not raise him after repeated attempts."
Source of information: Michel Beckers, Carla Mans, Russ Abbey-55th Fighter Group Association, www.ancestry.com - U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Photo source: Michel Beckers, Russ Abbey-55th Fighter Group Association, Peter Schouteten