Powell Perry Ellsworth

Name:

Perry Ellsworth Powell

Rank:

First Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-768657

Unit:

603rd Bomber Squadron, 398th Bomb Group

Date of Death:

1945-02-03

State:

Nebraska

Cemetery:

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

Plot:

B

Row:

33

Grave:

56

Decoration:

Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart

Comments:

Perry Ellsworth Powell was born on July 22, 1920, in Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska. He was the son of Perry A. Powell and Marie Inger Jensen Powell. He was the husband of Ellen Marie Chew Jacoby. He enlisted in the service on October 6, 1942. He served in the 603rd Bomber Squadron, 398th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a First Lieutenant and Pilot of B-17 #43-38697 during World War II.

On February 3, 1945, during a bombing mission over Berlin, the B-17G 43-38697 was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-17 42-97387, nicknamed "Maude An' Maria," from the 602nd Bomb Squadron of the same group. The collision occurred near Lehmke, Germany, resulting in the crash of both aircraft. Tragically, eight of the nine crew members aboard 43-38697 were killed in the collision, and only one survived and was taken as a prisoner of war.

1Lt Powell was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Ličge, Ličge, Belgium. Perry E. Powell's name is inscribed on the Anstey Window Memorial in Panel 3 (right), on Butterfly 23, in the top left wing (section A).

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