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name
HELBIG, Herbert Alfred - Date of
birth
6 December 1918 -
Age
25 -
Place of birth
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York City, New York -
Hometown
Queens, Queens County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
32868322 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator/Gunner -
Unit
600th Bombardment Squadron,
398th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
30 November 1944 - Place of
death
Grossloebichau, near Jena, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 16 | 17 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Rudolph Helbig (father)
Julia Helbig (mother)
Phyllis Helbig (sister)
Edward Helbig (brother)
Isabel Helbig (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-38463 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Target: Merseburg, Germany
MACR: 11145
More information
The airplane was hit by flak over the target.Eyewitness Statement:
"On the interphone, I heard the co-pilot say that LT.?? 's ship had been hit and was going down. Approximately twenty seconds later, I saw a ship in a dive directly under our ship, and it was burning from the wing. The flames seemed to be reaching as far back as the horizontal stabilizer. When I first saw the ship, it was approximately one thousand feet below us. In the dive at approximately four thousand feet below us, it exploded in mid-air. Flames shot through the air, and parts of the plane were sent in nearly all directions. During the dive, I did not see anyone bail out. There is a possibility that someone could have gotten out between the time that it was hit and the time I first saw it."
Source of information: Terry Hirsch, Geoff Rice-398th Web Team, WWII Draft Card, 1930 US Census, ancestry.com - New York Birth Index
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Daniel Bon