Name:
Harold Leonard Viken
Rank:
Staff Sergeant
Serial Number:
37343274
Unit:
742nd Bomber Squadron, 455th Bomber Group
Date of Death:
1944-08-26
State:
Colorado
Cemetery:
Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA
Plot:
Block 68
Row:
Lot 42
Grave:
C1
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
Armorer and nose gunner of the B-24 G, 42-78240, "Our Love", which took off from near Bari, Italy on a bombing run of a train yard in Bucharest, Romania. Over the target, the plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire and thus fell out of formation and was attacked by five German fighter planes on the return flight, which brought the plane down. The aircraft's two vertical tail rudders were shot off, sending the plane into a spin. Viken wrestled free of the plane's nose and jumped out. He did not survive. Please note that his last name was misspelled on the monument—it is written as "Vixen" instead of "Viken."