Edward Walter Appel was born on April 14, 1917, in Ironton, Crow Wing County, Minnesota. He was the son of Simon Peter Appel and Bertha Frances Ecker Appel.
Edward served in the 566th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomb Group, as a Captain and Co-Pilot on the B-24 Liberator #42-50511 during World War II.
B-24 Liberator #42-50511, on its last mission on September 5, 1944, took off from Station 114 airfield in Hethel, England, at 07h00. Its target was the Marshalling yards near Karlsruhe, Germany. It was flying deputy lead and on formation instruments nearly all the way. Just before reaching the IP they broke into the clear. They had just started the bomb run when the 88s hit. The plane took a big hit to the right wing and its two right engines were knocked out. The rudder cables were also cut, they had no turbos, and the fuel cells were ruptured. The windshield had come in and gas was flowing. They managed to turn around using the ailerons but lost altitude fast. They salvoed the bombs and anything else loose, but could not make it to the American lines. The crew bailed out and the plane crashed near Surbourg, France. Two men died because of chute failure (Bombardier Charles W. Davis and Assistant Navigator Theodore E. Rachel); one man successfully evaded (Co-Pilot Edward W. Appel); two others managed to evade capture until they were arrested (Radio Operator/Gunner Maynard A. Latten and Tail Gunner Curtis E. Hodges, killed by the Germans on November 25, 1944); seven men were captured and were Prisoners of War (POWs): Pilot Kenneth E. Frazee, 1st Navigator Charles R. Steinforth, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner Louis J. Trosclair, Observer Paul C. Andersen, Right Waist Gunner Raymond H. Keller, Left Waist Gunner George B. Steele, and the other Assistant Navigator William C. Beasley.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net, www.americanairmuseum.com