Roetzel Peter B.

Name:

Peter B. Roetzel

Rank:

First Lieutenant

Serial Number:

Unit:

579th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

1944-07-13

State:

Texas

Cemetery:

Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

Plot:

Section 12

Row:

Grave:

942

Decoration:

Purple Heart

Comments:

Peter B. Roetzel was born on November 9, 1923, in Havana, Cuba. He was the son of John Arthur Roetzel and Imogen Leuffer Waggoner Roetzel.

Peter served in the 579th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a First Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on the B-24J #42-95103 'Berlin Bitch' during World War II. On July 13, 1944, his airplane took off from RAF Wendling (Norfolk, England), assigned to bomb a target at Saarbrucken, Germany. The squadron encountered problems forming up during assembly before setting off on the raid. This aircraft suffered severe icing and spun in, crashing at Wrangle Common, Lincolnshire, England. 8 of the 9 crew on board were killed, only the left waist gunner S/Sgt Mark Osment was able to bale out and survived. The aircraft burned out on the ground, the bombs aboard the aircraft did not explode. When the fire died out, the bombs were disposed of, and the crash site was bulldozed in.

1Lt Roetzel is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com