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Martin Robert Harland

Name:
Robert Harland Martin
Rank:
Staff Sergeant
Serial Number:
15333885
Unit:
332nd Bomber Squadron, 94th Bomber Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
1979-10-31
State:
Indiana
Cemetery:
New Salem Cemetery, Daisy, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
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Comments:

Robert Harland Martin was born on April 11, 1920, in Indiana. He was the son of Charles Franklin Martin and Iva Bell Hammons Newman. He was married to Marjorie Vernette Fulbright Martin.

Robert served in the 332nd Bomber Squadron, 94th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Mechanic on the B-17 #42-30444 'Ramrod Ramsbottom/Black Jack IV' during World War II.

On January 5, 1944, his crew took off from Station 468 airfield in Bury St Edmunds, England, for a mission to bomb the Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in France. Shot down by Me109 fighters at around 1:50 PM, they evacuated their plane by parachute. Their aircraft crashed in the Hourtin Lake, District of Lesparre-Médoc, France. Of the crew, four members were captured by the Germans and taken as prisoners, 5 evaded the capture, and one casualty. SSgt Martin was one of the evadees. He returned to the UK on March 23, 1944.

SSgt Martin died on October 31, 1979, at the age of 59. He is now buried in the New Salem Cemetery, Daisy, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net