Robert Brunner SANDER | |||||||
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| ARMY SERIAL NUMBER | O-815396 (11081897) | ||||||
| AGE | 20 yo | ||||||
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1924 | ||||||
| STATE | Middlesex County MASSACHUSETTS | ||||||
| FAMILY | Single | ||||||
| RANK | 2nd Lieutenant | ||||||
| FONCTION | Pilot | ||||||
| JOB before ENLISTEMENT | Unskilled occupations in manufacture of automobiles |  | |||||
| DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 17 july 1942 Boston MASSACHUSETTS | ||||||
| SQUADRON | 369th Fighter Squadron | ||||||
| GROUP | 359th Fighter Group | ||||||
| ARMY | 8th Air Force | ||||||
| DATE OF DEATH | 8 june 1944 |  | |||||
| STATUS | KIA | ||||||
| PLACE OF DEATH | La Poterie-au-Perche - 16 km of Mortagne-au-Perche ORNE | ||||||
| DATA PLAN |
P-51 Mustang - type B-15 - s/n 42-106906 IV*L "Mary"
Macr: 5599 Take-off station 133 East Wretham, NORFOLK Defeated by light flak during attack of enemy convoy - 10H00 | ||||||
| CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY from Colleville | ||||||
| GRAVE |
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| DECORATION |
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| STORY | |||||||
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On June 8, 1944 at 10:00 am, the P-51B Mustang of the 2nd Lt Sander was shot down while strafing a German convoy at the Saint-Anne crossroads. This is the last time he is seen by his teammates. A monument and a stele are placed in front of the communal cemetery, to pay tribute to the American pilot.
  "I found him on the ground, his body was burnt." Marcel's memories are precise.
He was 8 years old, but the images remain engraved in his memory.
He is one of the few witnesses to the tragic end of Robert Brunner Sander, an American soldier whose plane was shot down by the German army at La Poterie-au-Perche in June 1944.
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| INFORMATION SOURCES | Francecrashes39-45.net - Aad.archives.gov - |
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| PICTURE SOURCE | Frédéric LAVERNHE - Findagrave.com - Ouest-france.fr/normandie |
| PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |