Gordon Wayne WISE

Source : Andy

31 January 1915

Salt Lake City, Salt Lake county, UTAH 

Parents : Arthur B et Ethal WISE 

Brother : Wildford WISE

Source : Andy

B-17 Fortress type G-35-DL s/n 42-107088

Macr : 5994

Mission: Bombardment in the Bordeaux sector
Take-off: Station 167 Ridgewell, Essex, UK
Crash: Shot by the flak at 09h12 by a direct blow to the right wing, 4 crew members were able to evacuate but only 2 of them survived.

The plane burned and exploded before it touched down.

Map of Rhône American Cemetery

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

Brother of

Gordon W

Mountain View Cemetery
Reno, Washoe County, NEVADA

Source : Jim Herman   

Parents : Arthur B et Ethal WISE 

Brother : Gordon W