US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Hello ,

On may 8 1944 a US airman named Waterville washed ashore in Ostend, on april 27 1944 two others named Dasit or Dassitt and Hernandez washed also a shore in Ostend They all werd buried at Koksijde cemetery

Who has some additional info on the casualties.
Regards
Alain57

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Doing a search thru the AAF MACR's, neither Dassit or Waterville's names appear. There are quite a few Hernandez's though, but that is a more common surname.

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

No matches at findagrave for 1944 deaths of "Waterville" or "Dasit / Dassitt / Dasitt / Dassit".

Waterville is more likely a town than a name.

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Hi Alain57,


Ernest Hernandez was the tailgunner of B17 42-107197 which crashed at Oostende on 27/04/1944 (AV934/44 and MACR 4299). The two other names mentioned are possibly wrongly identified crewmembers of the same plane.


Best regards


Luc

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Here is the MACR for 42-107197: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/90958188


Note on page three it says that 3 men were washed ashore and buried at Coxyde. One was Ernest Hernandes, whom the Germans identified. The Germans thought one of the others was named Dasit according to the MACR.

Hernandes was the tail gunner on the B-24. Other casualties were the pilot Ashley M Guynn and the Top Turret Gunner, John H Thomas. One of the crew's after the war comments says the Germans at some point had also identified Thomas.

Guynn story is here. Note there was apparently no identification on the body when it washed ashore.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...y-marion-guynn

(One comment on the write-up on findagrave about identifying the body after the war. I have not seen his IDPF file, but I suspect he was identified post war by his dental records not just by a "process of elimination". )

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Alain57:
Hernandez and Daist are both listed under AV 934/44 and there is an additional 'unknown dead' listed under AV 1058/44. This may or may not solve the question but it does account for 3 deaths washed ashore that day at Ostend. Hope that this helps. Ted51

Re: US airman washed ashore in Belgium 1944
 

Hello all ,

Thak you very much for the great help.

Greets
Alain57