TSgt. Patrick F. Murray

Army Serial number: 13007289

Unit: 367th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group (Heavy)

Act as: B-17 Flight Engineer

Born: 4 May 1914     Place: Mayfield     State: Pennsylvania

Died: 11 Jan 1944     Place: Nieuw Heeten, The Netherlands

Date of final Burial: 14 Jul 1949  at: American Military Cemetery Margraten (The Netherlands) 

Location: Plot: M  Row: 15  Grave: 8

Father: Patrick Murray   Last known address: 213 Main Street, Mayfield, PA.

Mother: Agnes C. Murray

Brothers: Frank, John, George

Sisters: Mary, Margaret, and Louise

Patrick's grave has been adopted by my uncle and aunt, Jan and Aggie Savelkoul

"Patrick's Unit"

8th Air Force, 306th Bomber Group (Heavy), 367th Bomber Squadron.

8th Air Force

Activated at Savannah, Georgia, 28 January 1942.

The Eight Air Force was the daylight  precision-bombing force in a combined Anglo-American air assault against Germany. In successieve fases of the offensive begun in 1942. Its objectives were submarine yards and pens, aircraft industries, transportation, oil plants, and other critical war industries. Although predominantly strategic in character, The Eight Air Force repeatedly employed its striking force to attack tactical targets in operations coordinated with ground armies, such as advances in Normandy after D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. In addition. It engaged in a large number of special missions-leaflet-dropping, supply of partisan groups, and repatriation of displaced persons and prisoners of war. At peak strength, the eight air force included 40,5 Heavy bombardment, 15 fighter, and 2 photo reconnaissance groups an organization capable of dispatching in a single mission (Christmas 1944) more than 2.000 heavy bombers and almost 1.000 fighters, carrying 21.000 men. It claimed the destruction of 21.419 enemy aircraft and on its 1.034.052 flights (332.904 by heavy bombers), consumed a Total of 1.155.412.000 gallons of gasoline. Transferred to the Pacific in the summer of 1945, the Eight Air Force established headquarters on Okinawa but had little opportunity to engage in combat before VJ-Day

On January 11, 1944 two planes (B17) of the 306th Bomber Group, 367th Bomber Squadron chrased. They collided over New Heeten, the Netherlands, it was the "Arch Bishop" 42-31236 (pilot 1Lt G. Campert) and the "Norah" 42-31538 (pilot 2Lt P. Cavos). Both B17's were on the flight back from Halberstadt, Germany.
The "Norah" was struck during a dogfight and thereby flew rudderless backward from the formation and thereby collided with the "Arche Bishop" that behind flew in formation, both planes fell to the ground and all twenty crew members died in the crash. The bodies were recovered and buried in the Raalte Community Cemetery. In December 1945, they were moved to the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten, Holland. Many of the men were later returned to the US.

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