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Military
Assigned to 407BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. Took off from Goose Bay in YB-40 42-5732 en route to Meeks Field, Iceland but there was a severe storm in that area. Aiming toward an alternate base while dealing with the storm, the plane was running out of fuel. Pilot made a crash landing at Brenish on the Isle of Lewis, UK. 7-May-43 RTD
Killed on 28-Jun-43 mission to Saint Nazaire, aboard B-17 piloted by Lt Stafford W Webb; Hit in abdomen by large chunk of flak, no 1st aid possible, died within 30 seconds of being hit. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: PH.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Assigned to 326BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down in B-17 42-29981 Plane ditched in North Sea. All crew rescued. 26-Jul-43. RTD
Pilot of B-17 42-5801, lost on the Bochum mission, 12-Aug-43. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 656.
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
A 1941 graduate of Denison University, Stafford Webb had signed his draft registration card on 16 October 1940 in Greensboro, NC. He received his degree in library science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Orange County, NC and served...
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 92nd Group sometime after arrivial in the UK converted to the role of in-theater combat crew indocrination and training. For this role, the Group traded its B-17F complement and obtained the B-17E, mostly from the 97th BG which was departing for...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
(YB-40) Delivered Tulsa 29/10/42; Biggs 15/3/43; Orlando 29/4/43; Presque Is 3/5/43 Assigned Keck Prov BG; Assigned 327BS/92BG Alconbury, t/o Goose Bay for Meeks Fd, where pilot found poor weather and decided to press on for UK, and low on gas, crash...
28 June 1943
The primary specific target for this mission are the lock gates at St. Nazaire, France to be attacked by two separate formations and also another force is despatched to bomb the German airfield at Beaumon Le Roger, France. A formation of 120 B-17s of...
Military site : airfield
Built originally to accommodate two RAF bomber squadrons, the first USAAF unit to occupy the base was the 15th Bomb Squadron in September 1942. Podington was then used as a satellite for nearby Chelveston. Work to lengthen the runways, although this...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Casey County, KY | 11 July 1916 |
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Son of Thomas Marion and Susan Armilda 'Susie' [Holder] Combest. |
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| Enlisted | Kalamazoo, MI | 23 January 1942 |
| Based | Podington | May 1943 – 28 June 1943 |
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Assigned to 407BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Saint Nazaire | 28 June 1943 |
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Killed on 28-Jun-43 mission to Saint Nazaire, aboard B-17 piloted by Lt Stafford W Webb; Hit in abdomen by large chunk of flak. Killed in Action (KIA) |
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| Buried | Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, UK | 29 June 1943 |
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Interred |
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| Buried | Mill Springs National Cemetery, Nancy, KY | 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2019 15:59:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events and person associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/310763878?rec=299482792 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 March 2019 15:51:15 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/310763878?rec=299482792 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:14:47 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey p. 501-2 |
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