Baughman Melvin E.

Monuments

B-17 ‘The Passionate Witch’ & ‘Kickapoo Joy Juice’ Plaque

Name:

Melvin E. Baughman

Rank:

Staff Sergeant

Serial Number:

16130955

Unit:

728th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy

Date of Death:

1944-03-28

State:

Wisconsin

Cemetery:

Brittany American Cemetery, Montjoie Saint Martin, France

Plot:

Tablets of the Missing

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart

Comments:

Melvin E. Baughman was born on February 26, 1920. He was the son of Errol Byron Baughman and Lillie E. Ringer Baughman.

Melvin served in the 728th Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Mechanic/Gunner on the B-17 #42-97200 'Kickapoo Joy Juice' during World War II.

On March 28, 1944, his crew took off from Sation 142 airfield in Deopham Free, England, on a mission to bomb the Chateaudun airfield in France. Their plane was shot down by flak and crashed near Chāteaudun airfield. Four members were able to bail out before the crash but were taken as prisoners. Unfortunately, the rest who were unable to bail out were killed in this event, including SSgt Baughman.

SSgt Baughman was declared Missing in Action. His name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery, Montjoie Saint Martin, France. He also has a cenotaph located in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Wisconsin.

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