Last Known Activity:
Acel Earl Livingston was born on January 30, 1921 to Carl and Emma Maria Taylor Livingston in Freedom, Utah. The US Census 1930 shows the family in Payson, Utah. Emma's name is transcribed as "Irma."
Livingston, according to his NARA enlistment records, enlisted in Payson in the Utah National Guard on March 3, 1941. He was originally a private in the field artillery. He had completed 4 years of high school. It is not known when he transferred to the Air Forces.
In his first appearance in Army Air Force records, he is an aerial gunner, assigned to a base in England in March, 1944. He flew 9 credited combat missions, all with the Determan crew.
On May 28, 1944, the crew participated in a bomb raid on an electric power station near Leipzig, Germany. Over the target area, the aircraft was hit by a direct flak burst in # 4 engine, setting the wing ablaze. The aircraft fell from formation, the burning wing dropped off, and the aircraft rolled to an inverted position. A gigantic explosion then tore the bomber apart, throwing three of the crew free.
These three crew members parachuted safely to the ground, but were captured. German records appended to the MACR state that 6 bodies were recovered, one with no ID. These men were buried in the Neuen Friedhof (New Cemetery) near Leipzig. A seventh body was found two months later, far from the crash site, testifying to the massiveness of the explosion. This body (Vasquez) was buried with his comrades.
After the war, Livingston was moved to the American Cemetery in Margraten, Holland, but was then returned to the U.S. for burial in the Salt Lake City Cemetery on May 7, 1949. He lies in Plot C-9-16-3-N1/2.
An application for a headstone or marker was initiated by his father on May 14, 1949. Curiously, the request was for a n upright marker, with no religious emblem. The actual stone appears to be a flat marker.
www.findagrave.com/search
www.ancestry.com/search
www.303rdbg.com/mission reports/163.pdf
www.303rdbg.com/combat crews
US Census 1930
NARA Enlistment Records
Utah Birth-Death Records, 1861-1970
Application for Headstone or Marker, OQMG Form 623, signed 1949
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Comments/Citation:
Sergeant Acel E. Livingston was the assigned right waist gunner on B-17G # 42-107028, unnamed, assigned to the 358th Bomb Squadron.
Missing Air Crew Report 5340 details this event. Mission loading lists identify the crew as:
2 Lt Alvin G. Determan p
2 Lt Ervin J. Pfahler c-p
2 Lt Jackson, Palmer, Jr nav
2 Lt James A. McCamy bomb
SSgt Milton C. Hendrickson eng/tt gun
SSgt Tobert H. Asman r/o
Sgt Manuel S. Vasquez btg
Sgt Albert R. Carroccia lwg
Sgt Acel A. Livingston rwg
Sgt Wayne E. Cope tail gun
Note: Grades and ranks as of mission date.
Note: Determan, Asman, and Cope survived, but were captured.
Note: Mission logs denote Livingston as "Acel A." All other sources specify "E."
In the crew photo, training, Livingston is in the back row, 2nd from left
In the crew photo, combat, Livingston is in the front row, 4th from left.
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