Wallace A. Tate Sr. was born on July 19, 1923, in Meigs County, Ohio. He was the son of Harry Tate and Flossie D. Rife Tate. He was first married to Ruth I. Miller Tate and later remarried to Wanda Marie Bringardner Tate. He served in the 32nd Bomber Squadron, 301st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B‑17F‑30‑DL #42‑3157 nicknamed “Laura” during World War II.
On July 26, 1944, the aircraft was shot down during a bombing mission targeting a factory in Wiener-Neudorf, Austria. Due to heavy cloud cover, the mission became disorganized, and although a recall order was issued, the crew of "Laura" did not receive it. The bomber formation was then attacked by approximately 50 German fighters. As the trailing aircraft, "Laura" was singled out and sustained heavy damage, eventually entering a steep dive and exploding in mid-air. Of the ten crew members on board, five were killed, while the remaining five survived by parachuting out and were subsequently taken as prisoners of war.
SSgt Tate was captured and held as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft IV in Gross-Tychow in Pomerania, Prussia until the war’s end. He ended his military service as a Technical Sergeant. He was a member of several veteran organizations including the American Legion and Barbed Wire Association. He operated Tate Body Shop for 25 years and worked for the New Lexington Water Department for 15 years.
Tate died on August 11, 2006, and is now buried in the New Lexington Cemetery, New Lexington, Perry County, Ohio, USA.
Source of information: b17flyingfortress.de, www.32ndbombsquadron.org, www.findagrave.com