Virgil T Roethler
Military"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Virgil was farming when inducted in January 1943. He was originally accepted for pilot training but the programme was cancelled at that time and he was re- selected as a gunner/flight engineer. He flew on 16 combat and 12 supply missions with the group at Tibenham. He would never forget a mission to Kassel when his squadron - for some reason - failed to stay with the main bomber stream , they were isolated and attacked by a swarm of ME 109's. His aircraft was the only one which made it back to the home base. After returning to the States he was given the choice of becoming a cook or an MP and chose the latter. Discharged from the military in May 1946 he returned to farming.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Algona, IA 50511, USA |
Revisions
Birsic / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia