Name:
Robert M. Vanderstraeten
Rank:
Sergeant
Serial Number:
36358260
Unit:
526th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomb Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
1943-05-29
State:
Illinois
Cemetery:
Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France
Plot:
D
Row:
5
Grave:
21
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
Sgt Robert M. Vanderstraeten, belly gunner of the B-17 42-29773 “Up and At Them”, took off from Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire, UK on a bombing run over Saint-Nazaire’s “Flak Alley”. They were shot down by AA fire and German fighters, crashing around 1712. Vanderstraeten crashed with the plane.