Milton Marion Stenstrom

Military
media-30833.jpeg UPL 30833 Milton Stenstrom (photo courtesy of the Stenstrom family)

Photo via the Stenstrom family

Object Number - UPL 30833 - Milton Stenstrom (photo courtesy of the Stenstrom family)

Milton Stenstrom enlisted in April 1941 and followed pilot training. Assigned to the 97th Bomb Group/414th Bomb Squadron, he was sent to England.

Shot down on 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24443 while serving as Pilot on a mission to bomb U-Boat pens at Lorient/Keroman, France. The Fortress was hit by a Flak burst, lost altitude and was attacked by one or more enemy fighters. He probably received a head injury in the ditching of his damaged plane in the water off the coast of Brest, France, and remembered that someone pulled him out of the plane after they landed in the water. He recalled that after a French fishing boat picked them up and took them to port, they faced a seemingly high-ranked German officer who told him "For you... the war is kaput!". Prisoner of War (POW).

Connections

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Units served with

Ground personnel of the 97th Bomb Group reservice a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-9023) nicknamed "Yankee Doodle", following the raid on Rouen. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 18 Aug 1942.' [stamp], 'Air=SER (Boeing).' [written annotation] and '216112.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'U.S FLYING FORTRESSES RAID ROUEN IN DAYLIGHT. Associated Press Photo Shows: No sooner had one of the huge Fortresses landed after the raid than ground crew im
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14030942
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 34199059
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-442752
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 12036569
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15067557
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Johnny Reb II, Johnny Reb Jr
  • Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Nebraska, United States 20 January 1920 the son of Charles and Mae L. Stenstrom

Enlisted

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States 28 April 1941 in the Air Corps

Other

Brest, France 21 October 1942 ditched in the Atlantic Ocean about 10 miles off the coast of Brest, France

Other

captured

Quimper, France 21 October 1942 after his rescue, together with 8 of his crew members, by a French fishing boat and arrested after landing by the Germans

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Sagan, Poland 21 October 1942 Interned at Stalag Luft 3. NARA POW Records : "Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 4 June 1945."

Died

Laguna Woods, Orange County, California, United States 24 July 2009
Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States

Buried

El Toro Memorial Park, Lake Forest, Orange County, California, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

US Census 1940
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
NARA WWII POW Records
Recollections of Milton Stenstrom as told to his family

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Edited summary biography and added POW event information. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 28-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 19-Oct-2014, "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey; "Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) POW Records.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 19-Oct-2014, National Archives Records Administration (NARA) POW Records, "losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1, pp 38-39 by Bishop and Hey

Milton Marion Stenstrom: Gallery (8 items)