Padgett James Walstine, Jr.

Name:

James Walstine, Jr. Padgett

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-712213

Unit:

557th Bomber Squadron, 387th Bomb Group

Date of Death:

1944-11-25

State:

Indiana

Cemetery:

Epinal American Cemetery, Dinozé, France

Plot:

B

Row:

10

Grave:

43

Decoration:

Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Comments:

James Walstine Padgett, Jr. was born on September 11, 1922, in Martin County, Indiana. He was the son of James Walstine Padgett and Martha Irene Queen Padgett.

James Walstine, Jr. was a graduate of Loogootee High School and a former employee of the Schwitzer-Cummins Company. He joined the Regular Army in LaFayette, Indiana, on September 23, 1942. He was sent overseas in July 1944.

James was assigned to the 557th Bomber Squadron, 387th Bomber Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator/Bombardier on the B-26 #43-34151 during World War II. On November 25, 1944, his crew took off from A-71 Clastres airfield in France on a bombing raid in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Upon returning to their airbase, A-71 (Clastres), the plane caught fire and crash-landed near La Neuville-Housett. The weather was bad. Four members of the crew were killed and three survived in this crash. 2Lt Padgett died that day as a result of his injuries around 8:30 PM. He is now buried in the Epinal American Cemetery, Dinozé, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net