Name:
Ralph Herman Koebcke
Rank:
Technical Sergeant
Serial Number:
15095168
Unit:
486th Bomber Squadron, 340th Bomber Group
Date of Death:
1944-06-03
State:
Indiana
Cemetery:
Florence American Cemetery, Impruneta (FI), I
Plot:
B
Row:
2
Grave:
20
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
Ralph Koebcke was born on April 12, 1919 and was from Indiana. On June 3, 1944 while serving as a crew member on B-25 (43-27727) 486th Bomber Squadron; 340th Bomber Group; 57th Bomber Wing, he was on an 18-plane mission to bomb the railroad bridge at Lagaro Nord, south of Bologna. His plane was shot down by antiaircraft fire and Koebcke was killed in the plane crash. The local Italian community placed a plaque to remember the crew of B-25 (43-27727) at the location where the plane crashed. He is buried in the Florence American Military cemetery near Florence, Italy.