Name:
Donald E. Bignall
Rank:
Corporal
Serial Number:
19138691
Unit:
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Death:
1944-06-06
State:
California
Cemetery:
Normandy American Cemetery, France
Plot:
H
Row:
9
Grave:
23
Decoration:
Purple Heart
Comments:
Cpl Donald E. Bignall, member of the 3/506th Parachute Regiment, took off from Station 463 in Exeter, Devon, UK to drop at 0140 over Albany. The C-47 and its paratroopers were nicknamed Chalk 15, one of three aircraft designated to carry additional munitions and TNT in wing loads. The plane did not make it, shot down by flak at dawn on D-Day which ignited the TNT and sent it spiraling down into the French countryside.