Donald E. Savage was born on June 30, 1921 in Phillips, Franklin County, Maine. He was the left waist gunner B-17 42-39868 aircraft during World War II. He was Killed in Action on November 11, 1943 at the age of 22 and is now buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

On November 11, 1943, at approximately 3 o´clock P.M., three of the crew members were taken prisoner of war and the other seven reported Killed in Action after a plane explosion. A statement from J.B. O'Harra that there was a very heavy front over the English Channel when they took off for Muenster in the morning. They reached their target and were on their way back. As they were approaching the front, near the coast of Holland, three Focke-Wolf 190´s came out at about four to six hundred yards distance and engaged them, knocking out their No. 3 engine and also starting fire on the left wing. The ship was strafed its full length and the interphones shot out. The pilot, is believed to have been hit at that time, because the ship went into a wide bank and then into a spin, after which it exploded. The bombardier and two other men landed in the water and were picked up by Dutch fisherman who were later overtaken by a German patrol boat.

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