Robert Cecil Fry
MilitaryAdded photo
Robert Fry was a student of McMurray College, Abilene, TX before enlisting in January 1942. He won his wings and commission as a 2nd Lt in the USAAF at Roswell, New Mexico on 28 July 1942. He was later stationed at McDill Field in Tampa, Florida before being sent overseas in February 1943. He was pilot of B26 #41-17961 on a local training flight 27 December 1943, when, due to mechanical failure, it crash-landed at RAF Toome, in Northern Ireland. The five crewmen returned safely but the aircraft was totally destroyed. He flew on many missions as B-26 pilot over Continental Europe in the 322nd Bomb Group / 452nd Bomb Squadron and was promoted to Captain. Shot down in B-26 # 42-107695 on the 8 July 1944 mission to the Abbeville-Drucat airfield, France. Made prisoner, he was interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow (Tychowo), Poland. Captain Fry was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for extraordinary achievement while serving on 25 combat missions, and the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf clusters for meritorious achievement and flying 20 separate (more) missions as a B-26 pilot. Robert Fry stayed in the Air Force after the war and retired from military service as a Lt. Colonel in the USAF.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center)
- Service Numbers: 14150971
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 457th Bomb Group 452nd Bomb Squadron 751st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-723476
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Aircraft
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Texas, United States | 28 June 1920 | the son of Harold J. Fry |
Enlisted |
Dallas, Texas, United States | 16 January 1942 | as an Aviation Cadet in the Air Corps |
Other Involved in training accident |
Toome, Antrim, Northern Ireland | 27 December 1943 | as pilot of B-26 Marauder Serial 41-17961. He and the four other men on board were safe and returned to duty. |
Other Bailed out |
near Abbeville, France | 8 July 1944 | from the B-26 he was piloting, Serial 42-107695 of 322nd BG/452nd BS (9th AF) |
Other captured |
near Abbeville, France | 8 July 1944 | after evading for a few hours |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Tychowo, Poland | 8 July 1944 | Interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow (Tychowo), Poland. NARA WWII POW records: "Returned to Military Control 10 June 1946." (sic) |
Died |
Abilene, Texas, United States | 8 May 1989 | |
Abilene, Texas, United States | |||
Buried |
Elmwood Memorial Park, Abilene, Texas, United States |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces Vol. I, p. 442