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Fred Abigt, Cedar Rapids, IA
Fred Abigt was aboard B-17 #44-8302 as a photographer when it crashed on 9 November 1944 near Hern, Germany. He was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW). He was a Corporal at the time of his capture but by the end of the war he held the higher rank of Staff Sergeant.
After hearing Reverend Billy Graham speak, he moved to St Paul, Minnesota to attend Northwestern college, where Graham was President between 1948 and 1952. It was here he met his future wife Ruth. Their daughter Lorraine was born in 1956. They had two other children, Bill and Carrie.
The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1958 and Fred got a job at the aviation technology company Rockwell Collins where he was to work for the next 30 years. He died in 2013. He was predeceased by his daughter Lorraine who had died in 1998. His wife Ruth survives him as do Bill and Carrie.
Service
Units served with
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Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Hunter 3/8/44; Long Beach 10/8/44; Hunter 15/8/44; Dow Fd 1/9/44; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 14/9/44; Missing in Action Saarbrucken 9/11/44 with Louis B Panther, Carl Johnson, Ernie Baker, Bill Broad, Alonzo Sullivan, Tony Rosetano,...
Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Evansville, IN, USA |
14 November 1924 |
Enlisted |
Evansville, IN, USA |
10 April 1943 |
Prisoner of War (POW) |
Herne, Germany |
9 November 1944 – 6 June 1945 |
Died |
Cedar Rapids, IA, USA |
29 November 2013 |
Aged 88
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Buried |
Cedar Rapids, IA, USA |
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