Earle Hazen Valentine

Name:

Hazen Valentine Earle

Rank:

Staff Sergeant

Serial Number:

31204391

Unit:

602nd Bomber Squadron, 398th Bomb Group

Date of Death:

1944-12-30

State:

Massachusetts

Cemetery:

Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Ličge, Ličge, Belgium

Plot:

Tablets of the Missing

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

Comments:

Hazen Valentine Earle was born on February 3, 1918, in Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada. He was the son of Beverly Smithson Earle and Maud Elizabeth McIntyre Earle. He was employed as a carpenter before enlisting in the service on September 21, 1942. He served in the 602nd Bomber Squadron, 398th Bomb Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Ball Turret Gunner of B-17 #42-102610 nicknamed ''Boomerang'' during World War II.

On December 30, 1944, during a mission targeting Bischoffsheim, Germany, Boomerang failed to make the assembly and was seen trailing smoke before crashing into the English Channel off Beachy Head, UK. All nine crew members aboard were killed in action.

SSgt Earle was reported Missing in Action and officially declared dead on December 30, 1944. His name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Ličge, Ličge, Belgium. Hazen V. Earle's name is inscribed on the Anstey Window Memorial in Panel 2 (center), on Butterfly 7, in the bottom left wing (section C).

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com, www.398th.org