Gene William Haulotte was born at Manitowoc, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin on May 1, 1913. His given name was Eugene but he went by Gene. Apparently he was an only child. His parents were William Henry Haulotte (7 Jan 1889 30 Jan 1949), who was born at Rapid River, Delta County, Michigan; and Martha Susan (Speg) Haulotte (22 Jan 1892 16 Dec 1978), who was born at Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. His parents married about 1911, and by 1913 lived at Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. In 1917 his father was station agent for the Chicago and North Western Railway at Newton, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. By 1920 the family lived at Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin. His father was a telegraph operator and train dispatcher for the Lake Shore Division of Chicago and North Western Railway Company.
He graduated from West High School, Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1931. He was an accomplished musician. During high school he played saxaphone and clarinet in the Green Bay High Schools band, and had his own band called Jolly Jesters.
After high school he enrolled at Saint Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Later he moved to Los Angeles, California, and enrolled at the University of Southern California. There he studied radio broadcasting and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in June 1938. In April 1940 he was a social worker/investigator for Los Angeles County. He registered for the draft at Los Angeles on October 16, 1940. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed 175 pounds, and had blue eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived at 919 West 34th Street, and was a dramatist and script writer for the Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) in Los Angeles.
His wife was Elizabeth Agnes 'Betty' (Glenn) Haulotte (29 Apr 1917 26 Aug 1998), who was born at Lost Nation, Clinton County, Iowa, and later resided at Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa. She moved to New York City, New York, where she was a professional singer for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and performed as a vocal soloist with local orchestras. They married at San Juan Capistrano Mission, California on February 14, 1941, and lived in Hollywood, California. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Los Angeles on October 1, 1942. His wife's address in 1945 was 5959 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, California.
He completed Army Air Forces radio operator training at Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and aerial gunnery training (site unknown). He was then assigned to the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Marshall W. Turner. The Turner crew completed B-17 operational training at Alexandria Army Air Field, Louisiana in October 1944, and moved to Lincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska before deploying to England. They were assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. They arrived at Station 137 by December 13, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
On Janurary 14, 1945 the Turner crew flew its first combat mission. Lt Clement J. Kochczynski replaced Lt Turner as first pilot on this mission, while Lt Turner flew as copilot with a more experienced crew, as was the custom. The target was an oil refinery at Magdeburg, Germany. Sgt Haulotte and three crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft, B-17G 42-98013, collided in the target area with another B-17 in the formation. The aircraft peeled off to the right with its rudder knocked off and top turret damaged. It went into a spin from which Lt Kochczynski could not recover, and exploded. It crashed at Ventschau, Germany, due east of Luneburg, at 1340 hours. Five men survived. The dead were buried at the cemetery in Nahrendorf, Germany. After the war Sgt Haulotte's remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.
B-17G 42-98013 crew:
Kochczynski, Clement J 1/Lt Pilot KIA
Hunter, Stephen S 2/Lt Copilot KIA
Crandell, Loren W 2/Lt Navigator POW
Clark, Thomas M 2/Lt Bombardier POW
Seeger, Roy E Sgt Engineer KIA
Haulotte, Gene W Sgt Radio Operator KIA
Scott, Frank G Sgt Ball Turret Gunner POW
Anchondo, William A Sgt Waist Gunner POW
Peak, William W Sgt Tail Gunner POW
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com