Wilhelm Donald Arthur "Don"

Monuments

Picauville American Aviators Monument

2Lt Donald A. Wilhelm Memorial

Name:

Donald Arthur "Don" Wilhelm

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-810445

Unit:

511th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group

Date of Death:

1944-09-01

State:

New York

Cemetery:

Forest Lawn, Buffalo, Erie County, New York

Plot:

Section 19

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

Donald Arthur "Don" Wilhelm was born in 1919 in Buffalo, New York. He served in the 511th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot on the P-47 #42-28410 during World War II.

On September 1, 1944, 2Lt Wilhelm took off from Advanced Landing Ground A-8 in Picauville, France, for an armed reconnaissance mission in Metz. At 09:30, during a strafing pass, while flying low to the ground, the tail section of Wilhelm's plane hit the ground. Then the left wing hit. Wilhelm's plane spun around, and the engine and tail section were ripped off. There was little left of Wilhelm's airplane, which laid burning on the ground. 2Lt Wilhelm was killed in this incident. He is now buried in the Forest Lawn, Buffalo, Erie County, New York, USA.

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