World War II Honoree

Bernard A. Duwel

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Butler, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: STAFF SERGEANT. HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE UNITED STATES ARMY AIR CORPS DECEMBER 9, 1942 AT FORT THOMAS, NEW PORT, KENTUCKY. SERVED AS A B-17 ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ BOMBER FLIGHT ENGINEER/TOP TURRET GUNNER, WHO EXPERIENCED COMBAT IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS. HE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 709TH BOMB SQUADRON, 447TH BOMB GROUP, UNITED STATES 8TH ‘MIGHTY EIGHTH’ ARMY AIR FORCE. HIS SQUADRON WAS STATIONED AT RATTLESDEN, ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION ENGLAND, U.S. ARMY AIRFIELD STATION #126. CAMPAIGNS: AIR OFFENSIVE EUROPE, NORMANDY, NORTHERN FRANCE, RHINELAND, ARDENNES-ALSACE AND CENTRAL EUROPE. ON THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1944 HE WAS KILLED IN ACTION DURING A BOMBING RAID ON THE LEIPZIG/BOHLEN SYNTHETIC OIL REFINERY LOCATED IN CENTRAL GERMANY. WHILE OVER THE TARGET, AND SHORTLY AFTER BOMBS AWAY, THE #2 ENGINE, BOMB BAY AND RADIO ROOM CAUGHT ON FIRE AFTER THE ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ WAS HIT BY FLAK, EXPLODED, DISINTEGRATING IN MID-AIR, AND CRASHED NEAR JAHNSHEIM. THERE WERE TEN CREWMEN ON BOARD, EIGHT PERISHED IN THE DISASTER AND TWO WERE CAPTURED AFTER BAILING OUT, BECOMING PRISONERS OF WAR. THE EIGHT WHO DIED, WHERE BURIED IN A GERMAN UNKNOWN BATTLEFIELD CEMETERY. AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN EUROPE, HIS REMAINS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE ARDENNES AMERICAN CEMETERY LOCATED AT NEUPRE (NEUVILLE-EN-CONDROZ), BELGIUM. DECORATION AND CITATION: PURPLE HEART. THIS AIRMAN, AN AMERICAN PATRIOT, WAS AWARDED THE PURPLE HEART FOR HIS SUPREME SACRIFICE IN DEFENSE OF HIS COUNTRY.