Eugene Stanislaus Purnell

Military

Eugene Purnell was Ball Turret Gunner on B-17 #42-31565. Shot down by flak immediately after bombs away and crashed SE of Mons, Belgium on a mission to Berlin on 4 March 1944. He landed in parachute near Saint-Quentin, Northern France and was made a Prisoner of War (POW).

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 95th Bomb Group.

95th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Donald Raymond Egan

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16044786 and O-682089
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Emory Thurman Kesterson

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 38046850
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Floyd Charles Noullet

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33305496
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Jonathan Pearson

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32294218 and O-692337
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Rodney Patterson Roehm

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16056598 and O-747321
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

42-31565

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Lassie Come Home
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

San Francisco, California, United States 9 November 1942

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Braunau am Inn, Gneikendorf, Austria 4 March 1944 - 6 May 1945 Interned at Stalag XVIIB, Block 31A in Braunau-Gneikendorf, Austria.

Born

Kansas, United States
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 2795
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2795 / MACR 2795, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database