Gordon Wayne WISE
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Source : Andy | ||||||
NUMBER OF SERVICE | 39905666 | |||||
AGE | 29 yo | |||||
DATE OF BIRTH |
31 January 1915 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake county, UTAH | |||||
ENLISTMENT STATE | Toponah, Nye county, NEVADA | |||||
FAMILY |
Parents : Arthur B et Ethal WISE Brother : Wildford WISE | |||||
RANK |
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FONCTION | Engineer - Gunner | |||||
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Mechanic | |||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 16 octobre 1940 | |||||
SQUADRON | 532nd Bomber Squadron | ![]() | ||||
GROUP | 381st Bomb Group (Heavy) | |||||
ARMY | 8th Air Force | |||||
DATE OF DEATH | 19 June 1944 |
Source : Andy | ||||
STATUS | FOD | |||||
PLACE OF DEATH | Pessac, 3km south of the Mérignac aerodrome | |||||
PLAN DE VOL / FLIGHT PLAN |
B-17 Fortress type G-35-DL s/n 42-107088 Macr : 5994 Mission: Bombardment in the Bordeaux sector The plane burned and exploded before it touched down. | |||||
CEMETERY | RHONE AMERICAN CEMETERY and MEMORIAL of Draguignan | |||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||
Source : Victor DANIEL |
Source : Victor DANIEL | |||||
Born on 31 January 1916 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gordon Wayne Wise (service #39905666) was the son of Arthur B. Wise and Ethel (Wood) Wise. Arthur was an Iowa native, and Ethel was born in Missouri. Arthur worked for the railroad in various capacities, including as a locomotive carpenter. (In the early 1900s, many railroad employees worked as shopmen, which included carpenters, machinists, boilermakers, electricians, sheet metal workers, and other trades.) Ethel was a homemaker, but later worked as a “floor lady in a candy factory.” Gordon (sometimes called Wayne) had two brothers, Wilford and Shirly. Gordon grew up in Elko, Elko County, Nevada. He attended the county fair at the Garcia rodeo grounds as a young boy and participated in the fair later in his youth at the new fairgrounds. He borrowed books from the library on the second floor of the high school building at Court and Sixth Street. In 1930, Gordon lived with his mother in Los Angeles during the time of the census. However, Gordon graduated from Elko County High School on 8 June 1935. After high school, Gordon worked for a time at the Northumberland Mining Company in Tonopah, Nevada. He enlisted in the Army on 28 December 1942 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He listed himself as an “oiler of machinery.” He stood five feet ten inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. His photo attached to Fold3 attests that he was a very handsome young man. Staff Sergeant Gordon Wise served with the 532nd Bombardment Squadron, 381st Bombardment Group, Heavy, based at Ridgewell (Royal Air Force) Airfield in England. He used his technical skills as a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a B-17 bomber (B-17 #42-107088). It is not clear how many bombing missions SSgt Wise had flown, but the 381st Bombardment Group flew a total of 296 missions and lost 131 B-17s while based at Ridgewell. Tragically, one of those B-17s was the one on which SSgt Wise was a crew member. On 19 June 1944, SSgt Wise’s B-17 flew a bombing mission to France. Tragically, the plane was hit with flak directly in the right wing and crashed at Toctoucau-at-Pessac, two miles southwest of Bordeaux, France. SSgt Wise was listed as missing in action. His body was never recovered. SSgt Gordon Wayne Wise received the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and Purple Heart for his valor in battle and sacrifice of his life for our country. He was memorialized at Tablets of the Missing (cenotaph) at Rhone American Cemetery, Draguignan, France. Gordon was survived by his father, Arthur, and his mother, Ethel. Sadly, Arthur died of cardiovascular and renal failure on 1 May 1945, less than a year after the death of his war hero son, Gordon. |
Crew of B-17 Fortress - type G-35-DL - s/n 42-107088 VE*V
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2Lt | John B | DOYLE | Pilot | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-756201 - AM+1/PH - Flint, Michigan |
2Lt | Julian K | PROKOPOVITZ | CoPilot | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-818513 - AM+1 - Pulaski, Wisconsin |
F/O | Richard H Jr | RICHARDS | Navigator | Dead | Cim Am Epinal (88) | T-124727 - AM+1 - Maspeth, Long Island, New York |
2Lt | Bernard S | LEAVITT | Bomber | Prisoner- Stalag Luft III Sagan-Silesia Bavaria | O-762640 - Amarillo, Tennessee | |
S/Sgt | Gordon Wayne WISE | Mechanic/Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 39905666 - AM+1/PH - Elko, Nevada | |
S/Sgt | Charles E | HARKER | Radio/Gunner | Dead | Inconnu | 32749851 - Burlington, New Jersey |
Sgt | Logan A | THOMPSON | Gunner | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 15334265 - AM+/PH - Ohio |
Sgt | Robert J | HELMAN | Gunner | Dead | Cim Am Epinal (88) | 15171209 - AM/PH - Charleroi, Pennsylvania |
Sgt | Robert Thomas | MATTHEWS | Gunner | Prisoner- Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow | 36475633 - East Saint Louis, Illinois - Blessé, hospitalisé | |
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Brother of Gordon W |
Wilford Wood WISE
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DATE OF BIRTH | 1 January 1908 Colorado Springs, El Paso County, COLORADO |
Mountain View Cemetery Source : Jim Herman | |
ENLISTMENT STATE | COLORADO | ||
FAMILY |
Parents : Arthur B et Ethal WISE Brother : Gordon W | ||
RANK |
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UNIT | US Navy | ![]() | |
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Findagrave.com |
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Victor DANIEL - abmc.gov - archives.gov - fold3.com - ancestry.com - fr.findagrave.com - francecrashes39-45.net |
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REDACTEURS | Victor, Jean-Philippe, Eric, Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |