Van Ness Clifford Wesley

Name:

Clifford Wesley Van Ness

Rank:

Staff Sergeant

Serial Number:

Unit:

755th Bomber Squadron, 458th Bomber Group

Date of Death:

1968-11-06

State:

Iowa

Cemetery:

Resthaven Cemetery, West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

Clifford Wesley Van Ness was born on July 24, 1919, in Albia, Monroe County, Iowa. He was the husband of Lorene Juanita Trullinger VanNess.

Clifford served in the 755th Bomber Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Radio Operator on the B-24 #42-50954 during World War II.

On January 16, 1945, at 08:03h, his crew took off from Horsham St. Field to bomb the steel works Krupp in Magdeburg, France. When they reached the area, their plane was hit between engines 3 and 4 by a flak battery of 6-inch shells. The pilot tried to rejoin his lines, but, running out of fuel, gave the order to evacuate over Fontenailles (N of Andryes). All members were able to evacuate, but two of them were killed when their parachutes did not open. SSgt Van Ness landed successfully.

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