Name:
Robert B. Holmes
Rank:
Captain
Serial Number:
O-724426
Unit:
82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group
Date of Death:
1945-04-16
State:
North Dakota
Cemetery:
Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
Plot:
SECTION C-25 SITE 14327
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:
Captain Robert B. Holmes was born on December 5, 1920 and was from North Dakota.
On April 16, 1945, Captain Holmes flying a P-51 (44-63214) of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group “Duxford Eagles” 8th Air Force out of USAAF Station F-357 (Duxford) was flying a mission to strafe enemy airfields in the present day Czech Republic. After strafing two airfields heading towards the third, his plane was hit by flak and he crashed and was killed near Prague. The 78th Fighter Group won was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citations for successfully ground strafing aircraft on five airfields near Prague and Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, on 16 April 1945.
A memorial remembers him in Prague-Ruzyne.