Name:
Kenneth Francis Hitchcock
Rank:
Staff Sergeant
Serial Number:
35419550
Unit:
535th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
2001-09-13
State:
Ohio
Cemetery:
Cedar Hill Cemetery, Newark, Licking County, Ohio, USA
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:
Kenneth Francis Hitchcock served in the 535th Bomb Squadron, 381st Bomb Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Right Waist Gunner on the B-17 Fortress #42-38117 "Touch The Button Nell II" during World War II.
On July 4, 1944, his crew took off from Station 167 Airfield in Ridgewell, England, on a bombing mission to Pont de la Riche, Tours, France. At 08:14h, due to technical problems with two engines after the bomb release, the airplane was partially evacuated at a very low altitude and crashed in the commune of Persac. The incident resulted in the deaths of seven crew members, only two survived. SSgt Hitchcock was one of the survivors.
Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net