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KIA DFC and AM 730th Bomb Sq


mkite93
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Here is a grouping I thought I would share to a young radio operator on a B17 that was killed in a mid air collision over England on Oct 26th 1944. I assumed the Purple Heart was just separated from this group at some point but my question now is would he have still been considered KIA and entitled to the PH if he was killed in a collision over England, I would assume so since they were in route to bomb Hannover but just thought I would get a opinion. Also if someone ever comes across it please let me know. 433004C4-7E9D-45B9-978A-E63A9C64A570.jpeg.9b097aa27818ec808bbc704ee33c6a06.jpegF8F1063F-CC16-4D1F-9838-8936CAA546C9.jpeg.56c0b0a11c6776e95ec5b115bb75fc06.jpeg0894C784-B8B1-4C70-B7A0-0006BC62F00F.jpeg.022ad1810f6cc642dcdc5c29cf7c77dc.jpeg07816ABA-2DB8-47C9-8A1E-75D208CBA39B.jpeg.dc50931bb7b1adb97ac49031280f54a4.jpeg63CE390E-716F-450B-9A38-D05F2178578F.jpeg.1894a8e2ff0bf570cf692652a4161ab0.jpeg

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The AAF had looser regulations awarding Purple Hearts for such incidents.  Assuming they were up as part of a mission, the airmen would have received Purple Hearts.  If they collided as part of a cross-country (training) mission, than they would not receive Purple Hearts.  
 

On the contrary, you will encounter Navy/ USMC groups where if the service member died in a crash outside of the combat portion of the mission, they did not receive a Purple Heart.

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Thanks for the input I assumed he would have got it but thought I would get an opinion since I was unsure since it was a collision ,but it happened in route to the target so he should have I would think. 
 

Regardless I thought I would post the medals to honor Sgt Albert Halvorsen and his sacrifice. Hopefully the Purple Heart turns up one day so the group can be reunited. 

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46 minutes ago, unclegrumpy said:

If this is the same guy, he is listed as KIA, so his family would have received a Purple Heart as well.

Massachusetts.jpg.806db4130127ea18466ac0269efa8f92.jpg

 

Thanks for that. i do believe that is him. 
 

I was able to locate this survivors account from the plane that hit Halvorsens, oddly the tail gunners on both planes were the only to survive. 

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aerialbridge

My only attributable USMC Purple Heart was awarded under somewhat similar circumstances.  On the late afternoon of 3/24/45 2LT  Roy Pratt of VMF-223 was flying an FG-1D Corsair from the airfield at Tanjay, Negros Island, Philippines.  Along with Major Robert Teller, the two Corsairs were on the return leg of a mission escorting a C-47 transport plane during Operation Victor.   Pratt's Corsair developed a propeller malfunction and he was unable to maintain altitude, forcing him to make a water landing in rough sea and bad weather about one mile west of Badian Island off Cebu.  Teller followed Pratt's plane down and circled around it to observe Pratt get out of his Corsair and swim to a large raft dropped by the C-47 and then lay on top of it, exhausted. Both the major and the C-47 then lost sight of him and soon afterwards, the gathering darkness, lack of fuel and poor weather, forced the two planes to return to Guian.  Pratt was declared MIA that day.   Teller became squadron commander a week later.   Obviously Pratt's very possibly avoidable loss did not sit well with a corps that prides itself on "leaving no one behind."  VMF-223's "war diary" for March 1945 states, "The fact that the [Army Air Corps] air-sea rescue service, although alerted by the 85th [US Army Air Force] Fighter Wing, unaccountably failed to send a rescue plane on either the day of the landing or the following day, gravely jeopardized LT Pratt's chances of survival. Planes of this squadron [VMF-223] searched the area thoroughly without success."  Pratt's family was presented his officially engraved KIA  PH in May 1946, and in June that year they were presented his posthumously awarded, officially engraved Air Medal with two gold stars. On 29 May 1947, Pratt received a posthumous promotion to First Lieutenant, effective 15 February 1946.  From other posts on the site, I have read there were 350 Marine Corsairs lost in WW2, not sure how many aviators of those were KIA, but not common PHs.  I wonder if they had searched for him that day or the next morning, or if Pratt had gotten the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) or Water Survival Training like they used to teach at Homestead AFB when I lived near it in the 70's, whether it would have meant the difference between his survival and a PH.   Sad story. 

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Old Crow 1986
5 hours ago, mkite93 said:

I thought I would post the medals to honor Sgt Albert Halvorsen and his sacrifice.

This is a great medal set and a fitting reminder as to the cost of freedom.  Thanks for being his caretaker and posting this tribute.  

 

Bless'em all...

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ItemCo16527

In researching my family tree, I discovered a distant cousin named 1st Lt. Kenneth S. Sherwood, USMC. He was a Corsair pilot serving with VMF-313 when he and another pilot both disappeared on 7 January 1945. It was later determined that they both flew their Corsairs into the side of a mountain. Sherwood was awarded the Purple Heart, and I imagine the other pilot was as well.

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Kurt Barickman
On 4/10/2021 at 12:34 PM, GIKyle said:

The AAF had looser regulations awarding Purple Hearts for such incidents.  Assuming they were up as part of a mission, the airmen would have received Purple Hearts.  If they collided as part of a cross-country (training) mission, than they would not receive Purple Hearts.  
 

On the contrary, you will encounter Navy/ USMC groups where if the service member died in a crash outside of the combat portion of the mission, they did not receive a Purple Heart.

Very true  about the sea services but I have seen on a couple of occasions that the family would receive the FDR Accolade document. Just my two cents.

 

Kurt

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BigJohn#3RD

Kyle and Kurt

Bring up the point of the Presidential Accolade being awarded to any service member who died serving in the military during WW2. This persistent is likely based off of the Columbia Accolade that had President Woodrow Wilson signature; these WWI Accolades were issued to all who died, in combat or not, as well as those who were wounded in combat, each noted the service member's eligibility with the phrases "Who Died," "Who was Killed in Action," or "Who was Wounded in Action." (1)

Best regards,

John

 

 

Houston, Arthur H. & Vicken Koundakjian, Wound Medals, Insignia and Next-of-Kin Awards of the Great War. OMSA Publications, 1995. https://www.omsa.org/books-sale-members/ . 68.

 

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dhcoleterracina

That's interesting John, I didn't know that here were three WW1 accolade styles. I have a WIA and one that says "Who Died In Service...".  So that one might be DNB type?

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Thanks for the comments and the discussion everyone. I noticed that I forgot to attach the survivors account I mentioned earlier. It must have been a horrific experience for the two men who survived. C4AF54EE-31B4-4B3F-A7A5-B851B06213B8.jpeg.f5f6eca908bef19459b27c03eeac7c74.jpegF02D4281-75FE-497F-B805-EAFD19A686EF.jpeg.ccf2a8684a2a617f23dfe907138cccc2.jpeg

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