Name:
Pike Buford, Jr. Martin
Rank:
First Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-805561
Unit:
395th Fighter Squadron, 368th Fighter Group
Date of Death:
1944-08-16
State:
California
Cemetery:
Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California
Plot:
D
Row:
Grave:
536
Decoration:
Comments:
Born 3 May 1918, the son of Pike B and Eva M Martin. Pilot of the P-47 Thunderbolt serial number 43-25545 that took off from airfield A-3 in Cardonville, France on an armed reconnaissance mission on 16 August 1944. He was hit by flak while making a machine gun pass. He evacuated the plane but was too low (about 150 feet) for his parachute to open completely. The airplane exploded on contact with the ground at 1950. Martin's body was found hanging from his parachute in a tree by the town of Champsecret, France. MACR 15222