Warren F. Lodge, Jr. was born on Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Warren F. and Dorothea Lodge. He served in the 555th Bomb Squadron, 386th Bomber Group, Medium, as a Second Lieutenant and the Co-Pilot of the B-26 #41-34989 YA*T "Rocks Off" during World War II.
On June 12, 1944, the crew took off from Station 164 airfield in Great Dunmow (Little Easton), England on a mission to bomb the railway installations at Bretigny-Sur-Orge, France. This would be a late afternoon effort and the second mission of the day for the 386th Group. At approximately 1800 hours the Group neared a place named Lillebonne on the way into enemy territory. Heavy-type flak began bursting within the formation while flying at 10,000 feet.
One flak shell exploded beneath the cockpit of the plane, the fragmentation tore the forward fuselage to ribbons setting the maze of hydraulic lines located in the nose wheel well under the cockpit on fire. A witness reported seeing somebody falling from the ship, probably 1Lt Burger. Another report stated that immediately after the hit, the plane swerved to the right, narrowly missing a collision with the number five plane in the low flight. Then the ship rolled over twice, went into a dive approximately for 3,000 feet, then leveled off for a few seconds. At that point, the radioman Staff Sergeant John H. Nekervis was able to bail out from a waist window.
The plane floated a bit as something in the ship blew up, at that point, it went into a spin until crashing into the ground and exploding. Staff Sergeant Nekervis while hanging in his parachute saw the plane crash and heard the explosion, he came down very near his plane. Four of the crew were killed in the crash. 1Lt Burger was found still strapped in his parachute and was taken to a hospital where he died from severe burns a few weeks later. Nekervis received small cuts from underbrush on a later date while attempting to elude some German soldiers. He became a P.O.W.
2Lt Lodge is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
B-26 #41-34989 aircrew:
1Lt Albert G. Burger, Jr. - Pilot
2Lt Warren F. Lodge, Jr. - Co-Pilot
Sgt Stanley S. Kondak - Navigator/Bombardier
T/Sgt John H. Nekervis - Radio Operator
S/Sgt Morris L. Samuelson - Mechanic/Machine Gunner
S/Sgt Leon F. McGonigle - Rear Gunner
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net