Forester Oscar Franklin, Jr.

Monuments

B17-F 41-24608 'Yahoodi' Monument

Crash of the B17-F 41-24608 'Yahoodi' Info Sign

Name:

Oscar Franklin, Jr. Forester

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-728192

Unit:

359th Bomber Squadron, 303th Bomb Group

Date of Death:

2007-07-13

State:

Texas

Cemetery:

Oak Hill Cemetery, Smithville, Bastrop County, Texas

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

Oscar Franklin Forester, Jr. was born on February 20, 1916, in Devine, Texas. He was the son of Oscar Franklin Forester and Ara Joyce Cook Forester and was married to Marian Lowther.

Oscar served in the 359th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on the B-17F #41-24608 'Yahoodi' during World War II.

On January 3, 1943, his crew took off from RAF Molesworth in England on a mission to attack the St-Nazaire submarine base in France. At around 11:30 AM, they were shot down by flak and enemy fighters, and their plane crashed in the town of Batz-sur-Mer - 10 km south of Le Croisic. The incident resulted in the deaths of seven crew members. The rest were able to survive but were captured by the Germans. 2Lt Forester was one of the survivors. He was taken to Stalag Luft 7A in Moosburg, Bavaria, Germany.

2Lt Forester died on July 13, 2007, at the age of 91, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is now buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Smithville, Bastrop County, Texas, USA.

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