Charles L. SIMONS

Source : Tx Oma (Ellen Marchese)

20 February 1917 d’Utica, comté d’Oneida, à NEW YORK  

Parents : Edward J & Rose C (Erhardt) SIMONS

2 brothers et 1 sister

1938 New York National Guard

6 January 1941   Utica, New York

Source : Francis Depierreux

B-17 Fortress - type G-45-BO - s/n 42-97394
"Kentucky Colonel"

Macr : 8065
Mission : Bretteville-le-Rabet (14)

Takeoff station 131 Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire UK
Shot by flak (several direct hits: engine, bomb bay, horizontal stabilizer) 

Plane evacuated by parachute - Around 13:00

 CEMETERY TEMPORARY of  St André N°3572

Story of Cemetery Temporary  

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

Charles L Simons was born on February 20, 1917, in the community of Utica, Oneida County, New York, to Edward J Simons and his wife Rose C (Erhardt) Simons, natives of New York. He had two brothers and one sister. Sadly, in 1920 Charles’s father died. His mother remarried a few years later and the family continued to reside in Utica during the 1920’s and 1930’s. In 1938, Charles enlisted in the New York National Guard and was assigned to a Cavalry Unit. In 1940, Charles was living in Utica and working as an office clerk.

Charles left the New York National Guard and enlisted in the U.S. Army on 6 January 1941 at Utica, New York. His enlistment record indicated that he was single, had 4 years of high school and was employed as a clerk. Charles initially served in a cavalry unit and then in 1942 or 1943 he transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces. Upon completion of his aerial gunnery training, he was assigned to the 603rd Bomb Squadron of the 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, which flew B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.

 The 398th BG was activated 1 March 1943 at Ephrata Air Base, Washington and departed the States in April 1944, flying the North Atlantic route to England, where it was based at Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire. The group flew its first combat mission on 6 May 1944, bombing the heavy guns and missile sites in Sottevast, France. Over the next thirteen months, the group focused its bombing missions on strategic targets, with attacks on airfields, naval facilities, oil refineries and factories in France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. The group also provided air support for the D-Day invasion in June 1944, the Battle of Holland in September 1944, The Battle of Bulge in December 1944, and Operation Varsity in March 1945. It is not known when Sgt Simons arrived in England. In early August, he was transferred from an armament role to a tail gunner role on the replacement crew of 2Lt Wallace H Blackwell, that joined the group in England in July 1944.

On 8 August 1944, 2Lt Blackwell’s crew were flying their 4th combat mission aboard B-17G 42-97394, one of 36 heavy bombers from the 398th BG dispatched as part of a combined force of 681 B-17s, to provide air support for British and Canadian troops that were taking part in Operation “Totalize”, an offensive ground operation, south of Caen, France. When the formation approached the target area, they encountered very intense ground fired flak and most of the aircraft in the 398th BG sustained damage from the flak. 2Lt Blackwell’s aircraft took a direct flak hit in on the tail vertical stabilizer and crashed south of Caen, France. Nine crew members were able to bailout of the aircraft before it crashed. All nine crew members were rescued by British ground troops and were returned to England. Sgt Simons was either killed in the initial attack or the resulting crash. 2Lt Blackwell’s aircraft was one of three aircraft from the 398th BG that failed to return from the mission.

Source : Fold3 ( emalin995 )

Source : Frogman

Crew of B-17 Fortress - type G-45-BO - s/n 42-97394
"Kentucky Colonel"