Name:
Robert D. Couture
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-158948
Unit:
354th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group
Date of Death:
2010-01-14
State:
Missouri
Cemetery:
Jefferson Barracks National Cem., Missouri
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
2nd Lt Robert D. Couture, pilot of the P-51 Mustang 43-6895, took off from Station 122 Steeple Morden , Cambridgeshire UK on an escort mission for US bombers. Seeing a column of German vehicles going to Normandy just south of Nogent le Rotrou, his 16-plane squadron made three strafing runs. On the third, Lt Couture’s plane was hit by the Margon flak. Uninjured, he crashed and suffered a forehead gash. However, he was immediately taken in by a local farmer and the Resistance spirited him back to the UK.