Birnbaum Stanford I.

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Stanford I. Birnbaum is honored on the following 1 monument(s) in our database:

2Lt John Warner Reed IV Monument

Name:

Stanford I. Birnbaum

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

Unit:

577th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group

Date of Death:

1944-06-23

State:

New York

Cemetery:

Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung County, New York, USA

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

4527

Decoration:

Comments:

Stanford I. Birnbaum was born on May 1, 1924, in New York. He was the son of Joseph Birnbaum. He served in the 577th Bomb Squadron, 392nd Bomb Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator of B-24H #42-7546, nicknamed "Alfred II" during World War II.

On April 29, 1944, Alfred II departed RAF Wendling on a daylight bombing mission to Germany. Before reaching the target, the bomber was heavily damaged by German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, losing its hydraulic system, suffering severe engine and control damage, and sustaining multiple fuel tank hits. Pilot 2Lt John W. Reed IV jettisoned the bomb load and successfully flew the crippled aircraft back to the Norfolk coast. Near Walcott, he ordered his nine crewmembers to bail out, all of whom escaped safely. 2Lt Birnbaum survived the crash and returned to active duty.

2Lt Birnbaum was temporarily assigned to the crew of B-24H #42-95027, replacing regular crew member Otto Holder. On June 23, 1944, during Mission No. 121 (Field Order No. 361), the crew flew the aircraft's 17th combat mission as the lead plane in a bombing raid against the Athies-sous-Laon airfield in the Aisne department of France. At approximately 7:54 p.m., while over the target, the bomber sustained a direct hit from German anti-aircraft fire (flak), which disabled the No. 3 engine and set the bomb bay ablaze. The burning aircraft immediately entered a steep dive, briefly recovered, then rolled over and went out of control. Although five crew members managed to parachute from the stricken bomber, it crashed near Barenton-Cel, approximately 2.5 km from Ch�ry-l�s-Pouilly and 9 km north of Laon, in German-occupied France. Two of the 24 B-24s dispatched on the mission were lost.

2Lt Birnbaum was among the four crew members who perished in the wreckage. He was initially buried alongside Staff Sergeants Robert Ammon and Tremlett by local French residents before his remains were repatriated to the United States at his family's request and reinterred at Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung County, New York, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.geograph.org.uk, francecrashes39-45.net