Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
ENGLISH, Albert W "Sonny" - Date of
birth
10 March 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Illinois -
Hometown
Moline, Rock Island County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16122131 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Right Waist Gunner -
Unit
786th Bombardment Squadron,
466th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
8 April 1944 - Place of
death
On the road from Bruchhausen to Niendorf, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 40 | 55 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Albert W. English (father)
Jean (Glenn) English (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-52610 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: The Madam
Destination: Brunswick, Germany
MACR: 3847
More information
Sgt Albert W. English attended Moline High School and was employed by the Rock Island Arsenal.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Peoria, Illinois on 4 September 1942. He was sent overseas in February 1944.
The airplane was attacked by a fighter and was on fire. During the fighting, a shell hit Sgt English in the hand and blew it off.
Five of the crew members bailed out before the plane exploded.
The Germans on the ground said they found a body with one hand blown off and two other bodies in the wreckage (Kenneth R. Kessenger and Roland C. Boulter).
They were initially buried on 9 April 1944 at the cemetery of community Noeltringhausen, Germany.
Source of information: www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, www.newspapers.com - The Dispatch - 22 April 1944, www.ancestry.com - Family Tree
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com - The Dispatch - 7 May 1945, www.findagrave.com