Thomas D Ledgerwood

Military

Thomas Ledgerwood was Pilot of B-17 #42-29985 'Barrel House Bessie' when it was shot down on return from the Bremen mission on 8 October 1943. Prisoner of War (POW). Thomas Ledgerwood stayed in the Air Force after the war. Serving in Korea, he ended his military career as a Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF on 28 February 1966.

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-679006
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13059061 at enlistment, then O-733589
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 369th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-471623
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Role/Job: Assistant Group Engineer Officer; Squadron Executive

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Kathleen | Barrel House Bessie
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

1 September 1920 in Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma, the son of James L. and Minnie B. Ledgerwood

Enlisted

17 December 1941 as a Private in the Air Corps at Camp Berkeley, Texas

Other

Bailed out

8 October 1943 of B-17 42-29985 over Germany

Other

captured

8 October 1943 after landing in parachute, in the area of Handrup / Lingen, Germany

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

8 October 1943 Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan, Poland. Force-marched from there to Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Germany where liberated on 29 April 1945 by US troops. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military Control 12 June 1945."

Died

28 May 2003 Norman, Cleveland County, Oklahoma
Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma

Buried

Thomas Ledgerwood rests at the Wetumka Cemetery, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 868
US CENSUS 1930
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
VETERANS' BIRLS files

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; MACR 868 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia