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name
MC DONALD, Ralph L - Date of
birth
11 July 1921 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Georgia -
Hometown
East Point, Fulton County, Georgia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
14043603 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
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
Robie W. Mc Donald (father)
Mary E. (Baldwin) Mc Donald (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-110105 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 4446
More information
S/Sgt Ralph L. Mc Donald attended Tech High School before he joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia on 24 January 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. 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.
S/Sgt Mc Donald had been the aerial gunnery instructor for the famous actor Clark Gable.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Kathy McDermott, www.B24.net, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, Military.com, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees, www.findagrave.com
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, The Atlanta Journal - 17 May 1944