Louis Houston Gill
MilitaryLouis Gill was Bombardier on the Ernest M. Klein crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on the 381st Group's mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben on 11 January 1944 in B-17G #42-31417 "Big Time Operator II". MACR 1879. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIIID.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 6830301
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-801987
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34287352
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Nose Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-733664
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13116808
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Big Time Operator II, Patches
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 533rd Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 11 January 1944
![Three B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 94th Bomb Group are attacked by a Nazi Fighter aircraft during a mission. Printed caption on reverse of print: 'A-62641 USAF: Nazi fighter plane attacking Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" during a bomb run over enemy installations somewhere in Europe, 10 September 1944. 100th[sic] Bomb Group, 3rd Bomb Division. U.S. Air Force Photo.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-408505.jpg.webp?itok=zJwHCUjh)
- Date: 14 October 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag 13D, Oflag 73
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Silver Point, Putnam County, Tennessee | 20 May 1922 | |
|
Enlisted |
26 February 1942 | Detroit, Michigan | |
|
Based Prisoner of War (POW) |
Ridgewell | 8 July 1943 - 11 January 1944 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War |
68-100 Zagan, Poland | 11 January 1944 | Interned at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIIID. Returned to Military Control 12 June 1945. |
|
Died |
2 January 2016 | ||
| Detroit, Michigan | |||
|
Buried |
Louis Gill rests at the Parkview Memorial Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan |
Revisions
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft Card
NARA WWII POW records
VA Gravesite Locator
381st Bomb Group Memorial Assoiciation, March 1999; MACR 1879 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1879 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database