Rice Roy Leonard, Jr.

Name:

Roy Leonard, Jr. Rice

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-824225

Unit:

451st Bomber Squadron, 322nd Bomber Group, Medium

Date of Death:

1945-03-18

State:

Michigan

Cemetery:

Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France

Plot:

B

Row:

7

Grave:

64

Decoration:

Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

Comments:

Roy Leonard Rice Jr. was born on August 2, 1923, in Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan. He was the son of Roy Leonard Rice and Frances Ruth Hurst Rice. He was married to Alice Elaine Gunther Johnson. He served in the 451st Bomber Squadron, 322nd Bomber Group, Medium, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot of B-26G #43-34409 during World War II.

On March 18, 1945, the aircraft was lost during a mission targeting road infrastructure in Germany. It had departed from airfield A-61 in Beauvais-Till�, France, at 08:00. While assembling for the mission near the commune of Goincourt�about 7 kilometers southwest of the airfield�it was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-26 (serial number 43-34422). The impact triggered an explosion that destroyed the aircraft and resulted in the pilot being ejected. The crash occurred around 08:44 AM.

2Lt Rice was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France.

Source of information: http://francecrashes39-45.net/