Urbain Granger was born on February 12, 1918 and was from Illinois. He served as the Tail Gunner on B-24 “Tenmenbak” (42-51324) of the 764th Bomber Squadron, 461th Bomber Group, 15th Air Force which was based out of Torretta Airbase in Italy.
On December 17, 1944, this plane was a mission to bomb the oil refineries in Odental, Germany. After the bombing run, “Tenmenback” had an engine problem and dropped out of formation and was shot down by enemy fighters. The plane crashed killing one crewmember. Eight crewmembers were taken prisoner and one was able to evade capture with the help of partisans. A memorial in Trenčianske Teplice ,Slovakia remembers the plane the crewmember who died with the plane. Reference Missing Aircraft Report {MACR} 10683
Granger was taken as a POW (Camp- - Stalag 1) and remained there for the rest of the war.
FROM FIND A GRAVE:
Married: 05 Oct 1946 Urbain Granger, WWII vet Visitation for Urbain "Bud" Granger, 84, of Kankakee, will be from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, with a 4:30 p.m. wake service, at the Kankakee Chapel of the Schreffler Funeral Homes. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Teresa Catholic Church, where he was a member. Rev. Anthony Taschetta will officiate. Burial will be in St. George Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley or to St. Teresa Education Fund. Mr. Granger died Tuesday (April 23, 2002) at his home. Mr. Granger was a carpenter, farmer and grocery store owner for 79 years, retiring in 1997. He was born Feb. 12, 1918, in Manteno Township, the son of Hector and Georgianna La Haie Granger. His parents are deceased. Surviving are his wife, the former, Imogene Hahn, whom he married Oct. 5, 1946, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, of Kankakee; two daughters, Julie Skeldon and special friend, John Foss of Franklin, Wis., Janine and James Marcotte of Kankakee; two sisters and one brother-in-law, Claire Hayen of Joliet, Lucille and Ed Kehr of Bradley; three brothers and two sisters-in-law, Charles and Virginia Granger of Los Angeles, Calif., Jerome and Janette Granger of Kankakee, Dr. Paul and Maryland Granger of Phoenix, Ariz.; four grandchildren, Jessica and John Brace, Nealy Skeldon, Jeana and Mat Thompson, Joshua Marcotte and Heather Ruel; and several nieces and nephews. One brother, William Granger; and one sister, Yvonne Reid, are deceased. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran serving during World War II as a staff sergeant. He received many service medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross with the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal for his 50 missions in the China-Burma-India theater, the POW Medal for his time in the German prison camp and the Combat Infantryman's badge. He was a member of the VFW and American Legion for 50 years. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for 55 years.