Henry Baxter Bottoms was born on August 25, 1925, in Northampton County, North Carolina. He was the son of Henry Cleveland Bottoms and Nellie Long Bottoms. He served in the 826th Bomber Squadron, 484th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator of B-24J #42-51967 nicknamed ''Strange Cargo'' during World War II.
On March 4, 1945, the B-24 Strange Cargo was hit by flak during a bombing mission over Graz, Austria, tearing off its nose turret and sending it into a spin. Two crew members died in the aircraft, while others bailed out. Of those who parachuted to safety, two were taken as POWs, but four were murdered after capture. When local police refused an SS order to execute the Americans, a German soldier killed four of them.
2Lt Bottoms was reported Missing in Action and officially declared dead on March 4, 1945. His name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Cittą Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy. He also has a cenotaph in the Severn Cemetery, Northampton County, North Carolina, USA.
Source of information:paulmcguire1.com, aircrewremembered.com, weremember.abmc.gov
PRIVATE CITIZENS SUPPORTING AMERICA'S HERITAGE
American
War Memorials Overseas, Inc.
War Memorials Overseas, Inc.
Bottoms Henry Baxter
Name:
Henry Baxter Bottoms
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
826th Bomber Squadron, 484th Bomber Group
Date of Death:
1945-03-04
State:
North Carolina
Cemetery:
Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Cittą Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy
Plot:
Tablets of the Missing
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
Comments: