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Elder Charles St. Clair

Name:
Charles St. Clair Elder
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
849th Bomber Squadron, 490th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
1945-01-05
State:
New York
Cemetery:
Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Texas
Plot:
Section J
Row:
Grave:
Lot 019
Decoration:
Comments:

Charles St. Clair Elder was born on February 15, 1924, in New York. He was the son of Charles St. Clair Elder and Ethel Elder. He was a graduate of the Taft School and a sophomore at Yale University when he entered the Armed Forces in 1943.

Charles served in the 849th Bomber Squadron, 490th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on the B-17 #43-38050 during World War II. He was killed in action on January 5, 1945, during a practice mission while approaching the north-eastern outskirts of Bury St. Edmonds. Their airplane collided with #43-38111 flown by 2Lt Donald L. Wood. His airplane broke up into hundreds of pieces. He and six members of the crew including one crew member who bailed out with his parachute on fire and fell to his death were killed.

2Lt Elder is now buried in the Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA.

The crew members who were killed:
Pilot: Harry Adelman
Co-Pilot: Charles Elder
Navigator: Arthur A. Saye
Top Turret Gunner: Virgil Walton
instr Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Harold S. Bennett, Jr.
Radio Operator: Don Tuttle
instr Radio Operator: Harvey Smetzer

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, 3rd Air Division 8th Air Force USAF 1942-45: Flying Fortress and Liberator Squadrons in Norfolk and Suffolk by Martin W. Bowman, www.americanairmuseum.com