Albert Anders Christensen was born on January 8, 1922, in Kennewick, Washington. He was the son of Anders Christian A Christensen and Laura C Christensen.
Albert served in the 863rd Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Bombardier on the B-17G #43-38098 during World War II. He was Killed in Action on September 12, 1944, when his airplane crashed at Hadmersleben, 4km southeast of Oschersleben, Germany.
On that day, B-17G #43-38098 was hit by a flak in the no. 3 engine and on fire; it kept formation for two minutes. The flames increased and spread until the whole wing was a mass of flames. Very shortly after this, the aircraft banked sharply and fell into a spin crashing into Hadmersleben. The crash resulted in the deaths of 5 crew members and 4 were taken as prisoners.
2Lt Christensen is now buried in the Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park, Seattle, King County, Washington, USA.
The crew members of the airplane were Pilot James P. Kittleson, Co-pilot: Homer P. Duncan, Navigator: Maxwell S. Kettef, Ball turret gunner: William M. Lamkin (4 Prisoners of War). Bombardier: Albert A. Christensen, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Alex E. Alford, Radio Operator: Calvin T. Bladen, Waist gunner: Joseph G. Eifried, Tail gunner: Eugene Bosnavits Jr (5 Killed in Action).
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com