SSG Thomas Edwin Hick Cenotaph -100th Bomber Group
Details:
In the cemetery adjacent to the church surrounded by hedges.
An inscribed brown marble marker.
The cenotaph of Staff Sergeant Thomas E. Hick who was KIA while on a mission serving as the Waist Gunner on B-17 (42-38191) of the 350th Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group. On May 19, 1944 the B-17 was shot down while on a mission to Berlin. The entire crew was KIA except for one taken POW. The body of SSG Hick washed ashore and he was buried in the Sandby Church cemetery on July 26, 1944. He was repatriated to Arlington National Cemetery in 1948. This Danish town has maintained this cenotaph since 1948.
The crew of B-17G #42-38191 consisted of:
Cole, Herbert H ~ T/Sgt, Engineer/Gunner, ME
Haswell, Charles L ~ S/Sgt, Left Waist Gunner, MA
Hawk, Ralph G ~ T/Sgt, Radio Operator, OH
Hick, Thomas E ~ S/Sgt, Right Waist Gunner, PA
Hohman, William P ~ S/Sgt, Tail Gunner, DE
James, Greek R, Jr ~ 2nd Lt, Navigator, VA
McNeer, Cecil J ~ S/Sgt, Ball Turret Gunner, IA
Raring, John J ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, PA
Rupert, Martin D ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, PA
2nd Lt. Lynn H. Barbour (Bombardier) was picked up by a fishing boat and eventually became a POW of the Germany Army and was held first at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan Silesia Bavaria and later Moved To Nuremberg Langwasser 49-11. He survived the war.
Fellow crew member, Staff Sergeant Charles Haswell, is buried in a nearby Isolated Burial (ISOB). See site Rødby Kirkegard.
Source:
Airway Over Denmark Website
American Air Museum Britain Website
Missing Aircraft Report (MACR) 4947
100th Bomb Group Foundation Website
Monument Text:
The inscription is written in Danish. The English translation is:
ALLIED FLYER
THOMAS HICK
Buried July 26, 1944
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
100th Bomber Group
350th Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, Heavy
8th Air Force
Wars:
WWII
Other images :
