Name:
James Claybourne Crouch
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-797275
Unit:
545th Bomber Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
1943-07-04
State:
Indiana
Cemetery:
Normandy American Cemetery, France
Plot:
I
Row:
27
Grave:
16
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
2nd Lt James Claybourne Crouch, navigator of the B-17 42-3235 “Lakanuki”, took off from station 106 in Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, UK on a bombing mission over LeMans. They were shot down by a German Fw190-A5 piloted by Uffz Wolfgang Ortlepp of the JG2/Stab at 28000 feet. Only the tail gunner, SSgt Butcher, managed to bail out successfully.