Vinson Wilbur Foster

Monuments

404th Fighter Group Plaque

US Airfield A-5 (404th Fighter Group) Monument

Name:

Wilbur Foster Vinson

Rank:

First Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-751498

Unit:

506th Fighter Squadron

Date of Death:

1944-07-26

State:

Alabama

Cemetery:

Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France

Plot:

Tablets of the Missing

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

Comments:

Wilbur Foster Vinson was born on October 22, 1918, in Montgomery, Alabama. He was the son of Leon Blackshear Vinson and Susan May Aaron Vinson. He was married to Eloise Bedsole Merritt.

Wilbur served in the 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, as a Fighter on the P-47D #42-26245 during World War II. On July 26, 1944, 1Lt Vinson took off from A-5 “Chippelle” airfield in Cartigny-L'Epinay, France, on a dive-bombing mission in Mutrécy. At 09:50H, 1Lt Vinson was shot down by flak. His plane crashed plunging vertically down near Mutrécy. The crash was observed by 1Lts Ollie O Simpson, Leo Westerinen, and 2Lt Eugene J McCloskey. 1Lt Vinson's body was never recovered. According to our source, it seems that the plane and the pilot are still buried in the ground. 1Lt Vinson is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.

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