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Julius on leave at home in 1944.
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Video and photographs of four memorials in Eastern England to seven lost planes.
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All Saints Church, Carleton Rode, Norfolk
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Memorial dedicated to the victims of mid-air collision from 453rd Bomb Group at All Saints Church, Carlton Rode village, Norfolk.
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Memorial dedicated to to the victims of mid-air collision from 453rd Bomb Group in All Saints Church, Carleton Rode village, Norfolk.
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Memorial stained glass window in All Saints Church, Carleton Rode, Norfolk.
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One panel of memorial to victims of 389th Bomb Group mid-air collision, All Saints Church, Carleton Rode, Norfolk.
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One panel on memorial to victims of 389th Bomb Group mid-air collision, All Saints Church, Carleton Rode, Norfolk.
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Memorial to victims of two separate mid-air collisions at All Saints Church, Carleton Rode, Norfolk.
It was known in the family that Julius enlisted when he was 17, needing his parents' permission to do so. Three months before his death, he wrote to his sister Sylvia: "I’ve started flying but as yet I haven’t told Mom & Pop. Please don’t tell them until I want them to know, and that will be when I stop flying. Don’t let Mom wrangle it out of you and don’t let it slip out accidently, since I don’t want Mom & Pop to worry unnecessarily, and it is unnecessary." A military buddy of Julius, hearing of his death, wrote Sylvia: "Julie wasn’t famous or important in the eyes of other people, but to you he will be an idol who was willing to give his life so that there will be no race prejudice, class distinction, or be denied the right of free worship for the pursuit of one’s happiness —."
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
Service
People
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: PH.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
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Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Survived mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Sole survivor from A/C. RTD
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM (OLC), PH.
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM(OLC), PH.
Show more
Units served with
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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 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
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Squadron
Constituted 566th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 19 Dec. 1942. Activated on 24 Dec. 1942. Inactivated on 13 Sept. 1945. Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Air...
Aircraft
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B-24 Liberator
Involved in a mid-air collision with another 389th BG aircraft 42-50452 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, on 21 November 1944.
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B-24 Liberator
Involved in a mid-air collision with another 389th BG aircraft 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, on 21 November 1944. The pilot of EARTHQUAKE MCGOON on this day was Lt. Alfred Brooks. Brooks was the only survivor from his aircraft....
Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Construction of Hethel airfield began in 1941, and was finished in late 1942. The number of hardstandings was increased from the planned 36 to 50 in 1942, in order to accommodate a full heavy bomb group. The 320th Bomb Group occupied the base for ten...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Brooklyn, NY |
1925 |
Son of Paul and Esther Heitler.
|
Enlisted |
New York City, NY |
March 1943 |
Someone wrote enlisted date as Sept 21, 1943, but he wrote home several times from military training in March and April 1943.
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Based |
Hethel |
July 1944 – 21 November 1944 |
Assigned to 566BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. His letter of Aug. 8, 1944, says he had gotten his permanent assignment (with the 389BS, 566BS) by this time.
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Died |
Carleton Rode, Norfolk |
21 November 1944 |
Fatal mid-air collision with B-24 44-10513 during formation assembly near Carleton Rode, 21-Nov-44. Killed in Action (KIA)
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Buried |
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22 November 1944 |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
Plot: Plot E Row 5 Grave 95
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