Paul William Abernathy
MilitaryVia findagrave contributor 'patootie'
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR Gilze-Rijen in B-17 42-5392 'Stric Nine' 19-Aug-43; shot down, ditched North Sea, off Hoek van Holland. Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 285
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Stric Nine : City of Albuquerque
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Hildebran, NC | 6 August 1925 | Son of Jones F. and Callie Mae [Whitener] Abernathy. |
Enlisted |
Camp Croft, Spartanburg, SC | 27 October 1942 | Camp Croft, South Carolina |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 19 August 1943 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag XVIIb. |
Other Discharged USAAF |
29 October 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Asheville, NC | 30 June 2007 | Paul W. Abernathy, 81, of Hildebran, passed away June 30, 2007, at the V.A. Medical Center in Asheville after a brief illness. He was born Aug. 6, 1925, to the late Jones F. and Callie Mae Whitener Abernathy. Paul was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hildebran for 70 years. He loved his church dearly. He faithfully served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher and chairman of the cemetery and building committees. He worked for 37 years as a building supervisor and draftsman for M.G. Crouch Lumber Co. He retired from Jack Sipe Construction Co., where he received the N.C. Master Craftsman Award for excellence in construction. Paul enlisted in the Air Force in l942, and later served with the 8th Air Force Division in England. He served three years and was shot down over the English Channel in 1943. He was a German prisoner of war for 21 months. He also was an active member of the Ex-POW Catawba Valley Chapter and was a member of the 34th DAV Chapter of Hickory. He was a member of American Legion Post 48. He is survived by his wife of 62 years; a son and daughter-in-law; two daughters and a son-in-law; wo granddaughters; two grandsons; seven great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Glenn, Charlie, Earl, Everett and Willis Abernathy, and a sister, Betty Pitts. The funeral service will be held at 4 p.m. today, Tuesday, July 3, 2007, at First Baptist Church in Hildebran, with the Rev. Ronald Arndt officiating. The body will be placed in the sanctuary prior to the service. Interment will follow in the church cemetery, with military graveside rites conducted by members of American Legion Post 48. The family will receive friends from 2 to 3:45 p.m. today, Tuesday, at First Baptist Church in the Christian Life Center. |
Buried |
First Baptist Church Hildebran Cemetery Hildebran, Burke County, NC | 3 July 2007 | First Baptist Church Hildebran Cemetery Hildebran, Burke County, North Carolina |
Based |
Molesworth | 19 August 1943 | Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
Added a "-" in the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" section.
Added POW camp info from POW records at the National Archives.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 285 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database