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Submit- Full
name
HESS, Donald William - Date of
birth
12 December 1915 -
Age
28 - Place of
birth
Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa -
Hometown
Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-814314 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
578th Bombardment Squadron,
392nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
29 April 1944 - Place of
death
Near the Farmhouse of Willy Gudehus
East Meitze, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten -
Walls of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
Arthur G. Hess (father)
Mazie I. (Young) Hess (mother)
Dorothy M. Hess (sister)
Mary L. (Van Sickle) Hess (wife)
Lyn L. Hess (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-110105 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 4446
More information
2nd Lt Hess graduated from Central High School in Sioux City. He practiced law with his father in the Sioux City firm of Hess and Hess and was an assistant Woodbury County attorney in 1942.He enlisted on 22 May 1942.
The only returning crew eyewitness report stated briefly that this plane was seen peeling off after the enemy fighter attacks with the right elevator appearing to be badly shot up, and that no chutes were seen. There were no additional reports on the loss of this aircrew and ship in the MACR.
About an hour after the impact a bomb detonated in the wreckage sending debris far and wide through the little town.
In 2003, a German national located the crash site and discovered humain remains. U.S. military teams excavated the site in 2005 and 2007 and found additional remains and ID tags that matched the airmen. DNA analyses were also done. Due to the fact that it was impossible to identify each crew member separately, their remains were buried in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery on 26 October 2011.
A memorial stone in his honor is located in Ida Grove’s cemetery.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com - WWII Bonus Case File / 1930 Census, Military.com, http://iagenweb.org/ - The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Conley Wolterman, www.ancestry.com - Central High School Yearbook 1934