Andrew Fratta was born in 1920 in New York. He served in the 702nd Bomb Squadron, 445th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Engineer/ Top Turret Gunner of B-24H #41-29542 during World War II.

On September 27, 1944, B-24H Liberator #41-29542 of the 445th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force, departed from RAF Tibenham (Benham), England, on the major Allied bombing mission against armored vehicle and tank production facilities at Kassel, Germany. During the operation, the 445th Bomb Group became separated from the main bomber stream while flying through heavy cloud cover. Isolated and without an effective fighter escort, the formation became highly vulnerable to German interception on the return flight. German Luftwaffe fighters attacked the scattered B-24 formations, concentrating their assaults on straggling bombers. During this engagement, B-24H #41-29542 was shot down by a German Fw 190A-8/R2 fighter. The crippled aircraft crashed approximately 1 kilometer east of Döringsdorf, Germany. The loss was severe. Three crew members were killed, while seven others successfully bailed out, were captured, and became prisoners of war.

TSgt Fratta was already dead when a fellow airman went to pull him down before parachuting to safety. He is buried alongside his crewmate, SSgt Paulus, in the same grave at Rock Island National Cemetery in Rock Island, Rock Island County, Illinois, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.rafb24.com