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Submit- Full
name
KESSENGER, Kenneth Robert - Date of
birth
25 April 1918 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Limon, Lincoln County, Colorado -
Hometown
Sherman County, Kansas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-664404 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
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 |
|---|---|---|
| C | 3 | 57 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Raymond D. Kessenger (father)
Letittia W. Kessenger (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-52610 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname: The Madam
Destination: Brunswick, Germany
Mission: Objective Bombing
MACR: 3847
More information
1st Lt Kenneth R. Kessenger enlisted in the Air Corps in Sherman, Kansas on 13 January 1942 .He attended the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado.
The airplane was attacked by a fighter and was on fire. Five of the crewmembers bailed out before it exploded in mid-air. The Germans on the ground said they found a body with one hand blown off (Albert W. English) and two other bodies in the wreckage (Kenneth R. Kessenger and Roland C. Boulter). They were buried on the cemetery of community Noeltringhausen on 9 April 1944. Also two other crewmembers were buried there but could not be identified.
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.americanairmuseum.com, Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot Class Book 42-H Coleman Flying School Texas