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name
HELBIG, Herbert Alfred - Date of
birth
6 December 1918 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
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
Hit by Flak over the target.Eyewittnes 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
Photo source: Jac Engels, Daniel Bon