Last Known Activity:
Albert W. Baker, Jr. was born in Ohio in 1917. His NARA enlistment record shows he enlisted at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California on May 12, 1941. The record states he was enlisted from a pool of enlisted men 3 months after discharge. It also states he had completed 2 years of high school and was single with no dependents.
After basic training, he was assigned to radio operator school. Upon graduating from that course, he was placed in a combat operational training unit for further training on the B-17 aircraft, including aerial gunnery duty. He deployed with a replacement crew to England in early 1944 and was assigned to the 360th Bomb Squadron of the 303rd Bomb Group. The crew flew 21 missions.
On August 27, a raid was mounted against the Focke-Wulf aircraft assembly plant and three associated airports near Berlin. The briefed targets were completed obscured by weather, so a target of opportunity, Esbjerg, Denmark was chosen. This target was bombed through a slight undercast. Moderate flak was encountered. During the turn-off-target, the aircraft was struck by a direct hit from a flak shell. The aircraft broke into two pieces, just behind the wing root. The tail section, with the gunner trapped inside, fell near Gjesing. The forward part of the aircraft traveled some distance before crashing at Saedden, near Esbjerg.
All of the bodies were recovered and buried on August 31 in Fovrfelt Cemetery. On April 30, 1948, they were all transferred to the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. Present-day records reveal 5 of the crew have no known grave, 2 are still in Ardennes, and 2 are believed to be in the U.S.
www.flensted.eu.com/1944099.shtml
www.303rdbg.com
www.303rdbg.com/missionreport/233.pdf
www.adopieagrave-database.nl/index.php
NARA Enlistment Records
USAAC-USAAF Aircraft Inventory Record
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Comments/Citation:
The aircraft involved in this incident was B-17G # 43-37629, unnamed, assigned to the 360th Bomb Squadron.
Missing Air Crew Report 8575 applies and lists the crew as:
1 Lt Winfield L. Yarnall p
2 Lt Louis B. Bertich c-p
2 Lt Isaac N. Sanford nav
2 Lt Harry B. Britter bomb
TSgt Anthony Fidares eng/tt gun
TSgt Albert W. Baker, Jr. r/o
SSgt Rubin Taxon btg
SSgt Dominick Di Salvo rwg
SSgt Melvin Birenbach tail gun
NOTE: Sgt Lee D. McGovern was a part of the original crew, but was relieved when the crew size was changed from 10 to 9. He never flew combat missions with the 360th Bomb Squadron.
In the crew photo, TSgt Baker is in the front row, second from left.
Service photo source:
www.303rdbg.com
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