Son of George O. Branstetter who resided in Wellsville, Missouri.

George served as a Private First Class, 982nd Engineer Maintenance Company, U.S. Army during World War II.

He resided in Rogers County, Oklahoma prior to the war.

He enlisted in the Army on December 22, 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Farmer and also as Divorced, without dependents.

George was a passenger on Flight C-46D (#44-77507) which was taking 41 American soldiers that were ill or injured to hospitals in the Paris, France area and was then eventually going to take them all back to the United States. This flight occurred after Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945.


However this C-46, for unknown reasons, developed a fire in one of it's two engines and crashed near the village of Taillefontaine, near Paris.

George died in the "Line Of Duty", along with the flights 4 man crew and 40 others when this C-46D crashed.

Service # 38326107

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Crew who perished on C-46D #44-77507:

Pond, Rex L ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, Utah
Weid, Claude H ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, Illinois
Hill, Herbert H ~ Tech/3, Medical Team, Iowa
Vermillion, Edward V, Jr ~ Sgt, Medical Team, Virginia

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41 Passengers who perished on C-46D #44-77507:

Barton, Graham J ~ Maj, Mississippi
Bordelon, Eugene A ~ Pvt, Louisiana
Brancati, Vincent J ~ Pvt, New York
Branstetter, George O ~ Pfc, Oklahoma
Callihan, Richard ~ Tec/5, Kentucky
Carpenter, Carl L ~ Tec/5, Georgia
Carter, Leonard S ~ Pfc, South Carolina
Cote, Wilfred S ~ T/Sgt, New Hampshire
D'Amico, Floyd ~ Pfc, New York
Davis, Homer P ~ Tec/4, Missouri
Doyon, Joseph O ~ Pfc, Maine
Eagan, Leonidas E ~ Pfc, Colorado
Erlich, Maurie ~ Pfc, Missouri
Farris, William C ~ Pfc, Oklahoma
Garrity, Jack M ~ Tec/5, California
Gorrell, Denver, Jr ~ Pvt, Ohio
Gronkowski, Edward M ~ Pvt, Illinois
Hutchings, Walter S ~ 1st Lt, Illinois
Icenhour, Eugene J ~ T/5, Pennsylvania
Jankowski, Henry E ~ Pfc, New York
Kittrell, Floyd A ~ Tec/4, Florida
Maron, Joseph P ~ Tec/5, Ohio
Martel, Arthur R ~ Corp, Maine
Martin, James A ~ Pfc, Florida
McDonald, George S ~ S/Sgt, Kentucky
McGill, James P ~ Pvt, North Carolina
McNeal, Robert ~ Pfc, Georgia
Owens, Woodrow W ~ Pfc, Tennessee
Perkins, Richard W ~ Corp, New Jersey
Plante, Amos A ~ Capt, New Jersey
Quillin, William H ~ 1st Lt
Ronn, Eric L ~ Pfc
Runolfson, Loren A ~ Pfc, Washington
Sanderfur, James M ~ Tec/5, Indiana
Schary, Jerome ~ Pvt, New York
Shaw, Charles H ~ Pvt, California
Sheppard, Marion W ~ Pfc, Virginia
Smith, Wilson F ~ Corp, California
Sysock, Peter ~ Pfc, New York
Thibeault, Emmett A ~ Pfc, Michigan
Zell, Wayne L ~ Tec/4, Indiana

Bio, Crew, & Passenger list by:
Russell S. "Russ" Pickett

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Below mission info submitted by:
Dwight "Andy" Anderson

The date is May 23, 1945, just 15 days after Germany surrenders in World War II. An Army Air Corps C-46 "Commando" aircraft with a crew of four and carrying 40 wounded American soldiers and repatriated prisoners of war to hospitals in the Paris area -- and, then, finally home -- plunges from the skies just outside the village of Taillefontaine, near Paris, with one of its two engines on fire. All on board are killed, including the wounded on their way to recovery and home.

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