Louis served as a Technical Sergeant & Left Waist Gunner on B-24 #41-28778, 564th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Berks County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Salesperson and also as Single, without dependents.
B-24 #41-28778 was hit by flak over the target, a Methanol processing building in I G Farben chemical works, Ludwigshafen, Germany. The aircraft left the formation just after bombs away with #3 engine and the bomb bay on fire.
"Based on eyewitness accounts the crew bailed out except for the below two airmen".
S/Sgt Louis F. Koch was fighting the fire in the bomb bay. Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Marshall A. Tharpe entered the bomb bay to help. Apparently, Tharpe's parachute opened inside the plane, engulfed both men in flames and trapped them in the bomb bay. The plane exploded in mid-air before crashing 3 kilometers north of Viernheim, Germany.
Louis was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
He was originally interred overseas and was later repatriated here on August 23, 1950.
Service # 13113265
Son of Mrs. Rose Koch who resided in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The reason he is named on a group headstone is because when soldier's were killed in close proximity to each other they were unable, at that time, to identify them separately and interred their remains together in one grave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24 #41-28778:
Koch, Louis F ~ T/Sgt, Left Waist Gunner, PA
Tharpe, Marshall A ~ S/Sgt, Top Turret Gunner, LA
The rest of the crew became POW's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The other two shown on this headstone are from B-17G #43-38359 which crashed in the same vicinity appx. 4 months later:
Fetters, Donald J ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, CA
Johnson, Earl H ~ Capt, Pilot, KS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bio & Crew Report by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett
Special thanks to:
ShaneO for submitting this record for bio updates!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He resided in Berks County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Salesperson and also as Single, without dependents.
B-24 #41-28778 was hit by flak over the target, a Methanol processing building in I G Farben chemical works, Ludwigshafen, Germany. The aircraft left the formation just after bombs away with #3 engine and the bomb bay on fire.
"Based on eyewitness accounts the crew bailed out except for the below two airmen".
S/Sgt Louis F. Koch was fighting the fire in the bomb bay. Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Marshall A. Tharpe entered the bomb bay to help. Apparently, Tharpe's parachute opened inside the plane, engulfed both men in flames and trapped them in the bomb bay. The plane exploded in mid-air before crashing 3 kilometers north of Viernheim, Germany.
Louis was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
He was originally interred overseas and was later repatriated here on August 23, 1950.
Service # 13113265
Son of Mrs. Rose Koch who resided in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The reason he is named on a group headstone is because when soldier's were killed in close proximity to each other they were unable, at that time, to identify them separately and interred their remains together in one grave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24 #41-28778:
Koch, Louis F ~ T/Sgt, Left Waist Gunner, PA
Tharpe, Marshall A ~ S/Sgt, Top Turret Gunner, LA
The rest of the crew became POW's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The other two shown on this headstone are from B-17G #43-38359 which crashed in the same vicinity appx. 4 months later:
Fetters, Donald J ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, CA
Johnson, Earl H ~ Capt, Pilot, KS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bio & Crew Report by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett
Special thanks to:
ShaneO for submitting this record for bio updates!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Louis served as a Technical Sergeant & Left Waist Gunner on B-24 #41-28778, 564th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Berks County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Salesperson and also as Single, without dependents.
B-24 #41-28778 was hit by flak over the target, a Methanol processing building in I G Farben chemical works, Ludwigshafen, Germany. The aircraft left the formation just after bombs away with #3 engine and the bomb bay on fire.
"Based on eyewitness accounts the crew bailed out except for the below two airmen".
S/Sgt Louis F. Koch was fighting the fire in the bomb bay. Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Marshall A. Tharpe entered the bomb bay to help. Apparently, Tharpe's parachute opened inside the plane, engulfed both men in flames and trapped them in the bomb bay. The plane exploded in mid-air before crashing 3 kilometers north of Viernheim, Germany.
Louis was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
He was originally interred overseas and was later repatriated here on August 23, 1950.
Service # 13113265
Son of Mrs. Rose Koch who resided in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The reason he is named on a group headstone is because when soldier's were killed in close proximity to each other they were unable, at that time, to identify them separately and interred their remains together in one grave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24 #41-28778:
Koch, Louis F ~ T/Sgt, Left Waist Gunner, PA
Tharpe, Marshall A ~ S/Sgt, Top Turret Gunner, LA
The rest of the crew became POW's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The other two shown on this headstone are from B-17G #43-38359 which crashed in the same vicinity appx. 4 months later:
Fetters, Donald J ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, CA
Johnson, Earl H ~ Capt, Pilot, KS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bio & Crew Report by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett
Special thanks to:
ShaneO for submitting this record for bio updates!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He resided in Berks County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Salesperson and also as Single, without dependents.
B-24 #41-28778 was hit by flak over the target, a Methanol processing building in I G Farben chemical works, Ludwigshafen, Germany. The aircraft left the formation just after bombs away with #3 engine and the bomb bay on fire.
"Based on eyewitness accounts the crew bailed out except for the below two airmen".
S/Sgt Louis F. Koch was fighting the fire in the bomb bay. Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt Marshall A. Tharpe entered the bomb bay to help. Apparently, Tharpe's parachute opened inside the plane, engulfed both men in flames and trapped them in the bomb bay. The plane exploded in mid-air before crashing 3 kilometers north of Viernheim, Germany.
Louis was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
He was originally interred overseas and was later repatriated here on August 23, 1950.
Service # 13113265
Son of Mrs. Rose Koch who resided in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The reason he is named on a group headstone is because when soldier's were killed in close proximity to each other they were unable, at that time, to identify them separately and interred their remains together in one grave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24 #41-28778:
Koch, Louis F ~ T/Sgt, Left Waist Gunner, PA
Tharpe, Marshall A ~ S/Sgt, Top Turret Gunner, LA
The rest of the crew became POW's.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The other two shown on this headstone are from B-17G #43-38359 which crashed in the same vicinity appx. 4 months later:
Fetters, Donald J ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, CA
Johnson, Earl H ~ Capt, Pilot, KS
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bio & Crew Report by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett
Special thanks to:
ShaneO for submitting this record for bio updates!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inscription
TSGT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORD WAR II
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