Memorial

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2nd Lt Robert R. Bishop attended Joliet Township High School and was employed as a warehouse man for Seven-Up.

He enlisted in the Air Corps in December 1941.

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.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA - which matched that of Bishop’s nephew - in the identification of his remains.

His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten Cemetery. A rosette is placed next to his name to indicate he is accounted for.

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.

Lt Bishop is also remembered at Greenwood Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.