SSgt Clifford L. Burgess, crew chief of the C-47 42-100876, took off from Upottery, East Devon, UK to drop 18 paratroopers over DZ-C as part of Operation Albany during the Normandy invasion. Their target time was 0120. To complicate matters, there were heavy clouds at 1500 feet, gone unreported due to the strict radio silence. Some pilots decided to pull up and find their DZs with the Eureka-Rebecca system, others went low to obtain a visual of their DZs, and a rare few stayed the course through the cloud bank. While approaching DZ-C, flak hit the plane, igniting an intense fire aboard. Undaunted, the pilot kept the plane level and steady while the paras jumped. Once they were clear, the plane spiraled down and crashed, killing all aboard.
He also has a memorial at Glenwood Cemetery, Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia
PRIVATE CITIZENS SUPPORTING AMERICA'S HERITAGE
American
War Memorials Overseas, Inc.
War Memorials Overseas, Inc.
Burgess Clifford L.
Name:
Clifford L. Burgess
Rank:
Staff Sergeant
Serial Number:
14140642
Unit:
93rd Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group
Date of Death:
1944-06-06
State:
Georgia
Cemetery:
Marietta National Cemetery, Marietta, Georgia
Plot:
E
Row:
Grave:
6558-A
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments: