David Wallace Sala, Jr. was born at Santa Barbara, California on February 5, 1924. His parents were David Wallace Sala Sr (5 Jan 1889 31 Aug 1951), who was born at Rushville, Schuyler County, Illinois; and Georgia M. (Mullen) Sala (17 Mar 1895 7 Apr 1991), who was born in Illinois. His parents married about 1922. In 1924 the family lived at Santa Barbara, California, and his father was a fruit merchant. In 1930 the family lived at Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, and his father was manager of a grocery. In 1940 the family lived at 513 South McArthur Street, Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois, and his father was a salesman at a retail electric store; his mother was an office clerk at a soil conservation office.
He had a sister, Rosemary Nelle (Sala) Overton (8 Jan 1926 31 Jan 2012), who was born at Santa Barbara, California; and twin brothers Daniel Lloyd Sala (5 Nov 1929 28 Feb 1994) and Capt James Donald Sala (5 Nov 1929 7 Dec 1965), who were born at Eugene, Oregon.
He graduated from Macomb High School, Macomb, Illinois in 1942. He was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Quincy, Illinois, on March 27, 1942. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds.
He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as ball turret gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Second Lieutenant Daniel C. Smoke Jr. The Smoke crew completed B-17 operational training at Biloxi, Mississippi, and was sent to Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia, where they were assigned a new B-17 for the deployment to England. They were assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. They arrived at Station 137 by February 26, 1945, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
On March 19, 1945, the 487th Bomb Group dispatched thirty aircraft to bomb a communications center at Zwickau, Germany. The Smoke crew flew B-17G 43-38038 on this mission. Because of poor weather over England, the Group assembled into formation over A-71, the Allied airfield near Clastres in northeastern France. Lt Smoke and his eight crew mates were killed in action when their aircraft collided with Lt John R. Virgin's B-17G 43-37969 'Beverly Jean' during formation assembly. All of Lt Virgin's crew bailed out and survived, but none of Lt Smoke's crew was able to bail out. Sgt Sala and his eight crewmates perished in the subsequent crash of their aircraft near Couvron, France.
The dead were buried initially at the temporary U.S. Military Cemetery Champigneul #1 near Chalons-sur-Marne, France. (Chalons-sur-Marne was renamed Chβlons-en-Champagne in 1998.) After the war, Sgt Sala's remains were returned to the United States and reinterred at Oakwood Cemetery in Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois. He is buried next to his two brothers.
B-17G 43-38038 crew:
Smoke Jr, Daniel C 2/Lt Pilot KIA
Pendarvis, George H F/O Copilot KIA
Olsen, Gunnar K F/O Navigator KIA
Strong, John H 2/Lt Bombardier KIA
White Jr, John Sgt Engineer KIA
Stone, Harold J Sgt Radio Operator KIA
Sala, David W Sgt Ball Turret Gunner KIA
Koepsell, Elmer E Sgt Waist Gunner KIA
Burres, Richard E Sgt Tail Gunner KIA
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com