Name:
Orville K. Hocker
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-761739
Unit:
749th Bomber Squadron, 457th Bomber Group
Date of Death:
1991-08-30
State:
Kentucky
Cemetery:
Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, Paducah, McCracken County, Kentucky, USA
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Garden of the Good Shepherd
Decoration:
Comments:
Co-pilot of the B-17 bomber YOU NEVER KNOW from the 457th Bomber group that left Glatton on a mission to Gaggenau (Daimler-Benz factories). Two airmen bailed out over Alsace which was still occupied. One was shot on the way down, the second was captured, then jailed and executed. With engines on fire the B17 crashlanded in Champlay. One wounded airman was sent to hospital in Joigny but the others managed to get back to England. Hoecker survived the crash and escaped back to England.