Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
PROCTOR, David Bruce - Date of
birth
18 April 1916 -
Age
28 - Place of
birth
Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-799451 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
53rd Squadron,
61st Troop Carrier Group
-
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
19 September 1944 - Place of
death
Vlierdreef
Hodonk, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 32 | 56 |
Immediate family
-
Members
David M. Proctor (father)
Beatrice M. Proctor (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-92842 -
Data
Type: C-47A
Destination: 4 miles northeast of Grave, the Netherlands
Mission: Re-supply drop
MACR: 10403
More information
1st Lt David B. Proctor graduated from Central High School in 1934. He graduated from Amherst College in 1938 and was a wholesale manager.He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States in Springfield, Massachusetts on 15 April 1942.
The aircraft had dropped his load in the vicinity of Nijmegen when it encountered heavy flak on the way back.
The pilot and the co-pilot were killed. In a statement by the radio operator S/Sgt Schryver, Lt Proctor was working with his parachute when the airplane crashed and Lt Ehlert did bail out. The other three crew members bailed out near Retie, Belgium of which two were taken prisoner. One crew member seemed to have evaded capture. The airplane crashed in Hodonk, which is a part of Retie.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com, www.fold3.com, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Market Flights volume 2 by Hans den Brok, Central High School 1934, Amherst College 1938