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Personal info

Full name
WILKINSON, Oscar Hudson
Date of birth
15 April 1915
Age
27
Place of birth
McCall Creek, Franklin County, Mississippi
Hometown
Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi

Military service

Service number
O-426964
Rank
Captain
Function
Navigator
Unit
68th Bombardment Squadron,
44th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
27 January 1943
Place of death
Harlingen, Terschelling, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
O 8 10

Immediate family

Members
Stephen T. Wilkinson (father)
Rosa L. (Buckles) Wilkinson (mother)
Edward J. Wilkinson (brother)
Earl Wilkinson (brother)
Myrtle V. (Jones) Wilkinson (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
41-23690
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the naval base
MACR: 15637

More information

Capt Oscar H. Wilkinson graduated from McCall Creek High School and attended Copiah-Lincoln College. He graduated from Mississippi State University. He was trained as a navigator at the University of Miami in 1941. Before he was sent overseas, he did patrol duty in Houston, Texas, and New Orleans.

He was married to Myrtle Jones on 11 April 1942.

The primary target as briefed was Wilhelmshaven in Germany, but due to severe weather and poor navigation, it was decided to hit a "target of opportunity" at Lemmer in the Netherlands. On the way back, the formation was attacked by Me 109s and FW 190s, numbering about 36. A few minutes later, at 1155 hours, the aircraft severely damaged an attacking FW 190 and apparently killed the pilot. This enemy aircraft then crashed into the left wing tip, tearing off the left wing as well as the tail assembly. The aircraft went into a flat spin and crashed into the rather shallow Wadden Sea, as did the FW. No one was able to parachute and there were no survivors. Despite a large-scale search by both the Germans and Dutch, only the bodies of three American airmen were found and identified.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov. www.fold3.com MACR, www.ancestry.com Betty Rowe Family Tree

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Frank Gubbels, www.ancestry.com - Mississippi State University Yearbook 1940, www.newspapers.com - Clarion Ledger - 19 February 1943