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Joel Milton Acker Jr

Military

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Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA). Missing Air Crew Report #289.

Service

People

  • Allan Blossman

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier, Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Louis Brindley

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell. ' Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Melvin Hansen

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA).

  • George Hunt

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Melvin Johnson

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell.' Killed in Action (KIA). Missing Air Crew Report #289

  • Van Jones

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Harry Ketterman

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Spiridon Scoursi

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 42-30046 'Merrie Hell. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Air Medal

  • Ernest Sierens

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
    Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30046 'Merrie Hell', Killed in Action (KIA).

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Units served with

  • 384th Bomb Group

    384th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 384th Bomb Group flew B-17s from Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, between May 1943 and June 1945. They were engaged in daylight bombing missions over Germany as part of the Allies' efforts to destroy the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe by...

  • 546th Bomb Squadron

    546th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

Aircraft

  • 42-30046 "MERRIE HELL"

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 3/4/43; Sioux City 14/4/43; Kearney 4/5/43; Bangor 20/5/43; Assigned 546BS/384BG [BK-K] Grafton Underwood 24/5/43; Missing in Action Recklinghausen 12/8/43 with Ernest J. Sierens - body never found, Co-pilot: Joel M. Acker Jr.,...

Missions

  • VIII Bomber Command 81

    12 August 1943
    This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb...

Associated Place

  • Grafton Underwood

    Military site : airfield
    Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for...

Events

Event Location Date
Born Belton, SC 29627, USA 9 March 1915
Enlisted Charlotte, NC, USA 25 February 1942

Residence: Mecklemburg County, North Carolina
As a Private in Air Corps
Assigned 28 June 1943

Assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 547th Bomb Squasdron on AAF Station 106 Special Orders #38 dated 28 June 1943, Ernest J. Sierens Crew. 7 combat missions.
Killed in Action (KIA) Gelsenkirchen, Germany 12 August 1943
Buried Netherlands American Cemetery

Plot N Row 18 Grave 14
Nationality
American
Nickname
Not yet known
Service numbers
At enlistment 14062755, then O-668177
Highest rank
Second Lieutenant
Role/job
Co-Pilot
Awards
  • Air Medal
  • Purple Heart

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
24 December 2020 20:04:36 jmoore43 Changes to service number and events
Sources

Added a Buried event per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 56296198.
Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56296198/joel-milton-acker
Updated S/N per info in the event Description section.
Date Contributor Update
24 December 2020 19:55:57 jmoore43 Changes to biography and events
Sources

Added punctuation to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Date Contributor Update
06 January 2017 02:25:02 bombercommand Changes to media associations
Sources

http://www.384thbombgroup.com/
Date Contributor Update
21 June 2016 14:00:38 Lucy May Changes to middlename
Sources

384th BG's list of personnel who were Killed in Action: http://www.384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/KIAList.php
Date Contributor Update
16 June 2015 19:11:07 bombercommand Changes to awards
Sources

http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=50
Date Contributor Update
16 June 2015 19:09:10 bombercommand Changes to biography and events
Sources

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56296198

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=WR26&tf=...
Date Contributor Update
18 February 2015 00:13:11 bombercommand Changes to suffix, service number, biography, events, person associations, place associations, mission associations and media associations
Sources

384thbombgroup.com
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:15:22 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 289 / MACR 289, http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=a... / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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