Gustafson Ragnar Eugene

Name:

Ragnar Eugene Gustafson

Rank:

First Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-811635

Unit:

368th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

2004-05-10

State:

Cemetery:

Geneva Cemetery, Geneva, Seminole County, Florida, USA

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Air medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Comments:

Ragnar Eugene Gustafson was born on June 20, 1920. He was the husband of Erma Alderman Gustafson.

Ragnar served in the 367th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, as a First Lieutenant and Navigator of the B-17 #42-38163 during World War II. On June 17, 1944, at 08h00, 1Lt Gustafson took off from Station 111 airfield in Thurleigh, England, with his crew, on a mission to attack an aerodrome. Hit by flak off the French coast, they continued the mission, but an engine caught fire and the aircraft was evacuated over Loué, France, around 12:45 p.m. Of the crew, only the Mechanic was not able to make it. Their aircraft crashed at Torcé-Viviers-en-Charnie.

1Lt Gustafson was helped and kept hidden by a grocery couple in Juigné-sur-Sarthe to escape enemy capture. He was a fugitive there until the liberation of the village. He returned to the UK on August 19, 1944.

He died on May 10, 2004, at the age of 83, and is now buried in the Geneva Cemetery, Geneva, Seminole County, Florida, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net