Kenneth Robert Murgatroyd
MilitaryAssigned to 613BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 12 x combat missions. Shot down 20-Jul-44 in B-17 42-31037 "Pistol Packin' Mama". Prisoner of War (POW).
Awards: AM, 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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12053653 / O-689500
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19101963 / O-709052
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32791444
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39206694
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13091775 / O-818215
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Benefield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Alameda County, California | 8 March 1922 | |
|
Other Bailed out |
Weimar, Germany | 20 July 1944 | Shot down 20-Jul-44 in B-17 42-31037 'Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW). |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 26 July 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. Dates are approximate |
|
Died |
Greenbrae, California | 25 September 2006 | Kenneth R. Murgatroyd Ken Murgatroyd, of San Rafael, passed away peacefully September 25th, 2006 in Greenbrae, CA after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 58 years, Jeanne O'Connor Murgatroyd and by his infant daughter Patty. Ken celebrated his 84th birthday earlier this year. He was born in Berkeley to Robert and Ruth Freylach Murgatroyd. He grew up in San Anselmo where he met his future wife -- the love of his life. Ken's career was with the Air Force. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 and became a pilot of a B-17 "Flying Fortress". He was 22 years old when he flew his first combat mission. That was on D-Day, June 6, 1944 over Normandy in advance of the Allied landings on Omaha and Utah beaches. Twelve missions later, his plane was shot down over Germany and he spent the rest of the war as a POW in Stalag Luft 1. Ken also served his country during the Korean War and ultimately retired from the US Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel. Ken is survived by his four children Ken, Jim, Jeannie and Larry, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Military Burial Services will be conducted at 10:00 AM, Friday, September 29th at Golden Gate National Cemetery, 1300 Sneath Lane, San Bruno. Memorials may be made in Ken's name to the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society or by donating blood to the Red Cross. KEATON MORTUARY |
|
Buried |
Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno, San Mateo County, CA | 29 September 2006 | Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno, San Mateo County, California |
|
Based |
Deenethorpe | 20 July 1944 | Assigned to 613BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Enlisted |
Revisions
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7545 / MACR 7545, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=154 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database