CO. A, 508th PARATROOP INF, 82ND AIRBORNE DIV. WORLD WAR II.
He was the son of Paul C. and Helen (Diener) Bellesfield and was employed at the Bethlehem Steel and a member of the Salisbury Motorcycle Club when he joined the US Army at the age of 19 and became a paratrooper. He landed on the beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He also participated in the North African and Middle Eastern campaigns in August, 1944. He was onboard Army Air Corps aircraft No. 20, dubbed "Satan's Fate," when it left the runway at Langar Airfield in England as one of approximately 1,500 planes for a 12-hour flight to Drop Zone T Groesbeek: Wylerbaan Road. Their mission was to "take Devil's Hill", a Nazi outpost 5 miles from the German border, and hold it until relief could arrive. A few miles from the drop zone, the C-47 was hit by intensive anti-aircraft flak. First Lt. Jim Martin, kept his burning plane in formation until Lt. John Foley's paratroopers had jumped. Eyewitnesses said the plane's wing crumbled and the plane fell into a field on Piet Martens' farm, on the outskirts of Groot-Linden. Pvt. Bellesfield, the last paratrooper to jump, was found dangling from the mangled fuselage by the strings of his parachute. On Sept. 18, 1945, a year and a day after he was declared MIA, the U.S. adjutant general's office informed Paul and Helen Bellesfield that their son had been killed in action. He was awarded a Purple Heart, held a Bronze Star, the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, the French Fourragere and the World War II Victory Medal. He was awarded European, African and Middle Eastern campaign medals, and bronze service stars from the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns. He also held marksmanship medals on the carbine rifle, submachine gun, machine gun and mortar.
Pvt. Bellesfield was originally buried in St. Lambertus Catholic Church Cemetery, Groot-Linden, Netherlands, but in March, 1946 his remains were exhumed and buried in the U. S. Military Cemetery Ardennes, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. In 1949, his remains were again exhumed and returned to Allentown, PA where he was buried at this site in St. Mark's Cemetery. In September, 1983, the town of Groot-Linden erected a plaque in memory of Pvt. Bellesfield. His name is engraved beneath a depiction of the "AA" airborne emblem.
He was the son of Paul C. and Helen (Diener) Bellesfield and was employed at the Bethlehem Steel and a member of the Salisbury Motorcycle Club when he joined the US Army at the age of 19 and became a paratrooper. He landed on the beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He also participated in the North African and Middle Eastern campaigns in August, 1944. He was onboard Army Air Corps aircraft No. 20, dubbed "Satan's Fate," when it left the runway at Langar Airfield in England as one of approximately 1,500 planes for a 12-hour flight to Drop Zone T Groesbeek: Wylerbaan Road. Their mission was to "take Devil's Hill", a Nazi outpost 5 miles from the German border, and hold it until relief could arrive. A few miles from the drop zone, the C-47 was hit by intensive anti-aircraft flak. First Lt. Jim Martin, kept his burning plane in formation until Lt. John Foley's paratroopers had jumped. Eyewitnesses said the plane's wing crumbled and the plane fell into a field on Piet Martens' farm, on the outskirts of Groot-Linden. Pvt. Bellesfield, the last paratrooper to jump, was found dangling from the mangled fuselage by the strings of his parachute. On Sept. 18, 1945, a year and a day after he was declared MIA, the U.S. adjutant general's office informed Paul and Helen Bellesfield that their son had been killed in action. He was awarded a Purple Heart, held a Bronze Star, the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, the French Fourragere and the World War II Victory Medal. He was awarded European, African and Middle Eastern campaign medals, and bronze service stars from the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns. He also held marksmanship medals on the carbine rifle, submachine gun, machine gun and mortar.
Pvt. Bellesfield was originally buried in St. Lambertus Catholic Church Cemetery, Groot-Linden, Netherlands, but in March, 1946 his remains were exhumed and buried in the U. S. Military Cemetery Ardennes, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. In 1949, his remains were again exhumed and returned to Allentown, PA where he was buried at this site in St. Mark's Cemetery. In September, 1983, the town of Groot-Linden erected a plaque in memory of Pvt. Bellesfield. His name is engraved beneath a depiction of the "AA" airborne emblem.
CO. A, 508th PARATROOP INF, 82ND AIRBORNE DIV. WORLD WAR II.
He was the son of Paul C. and Helen (Diener) Bellesfield and was employed at the Bethlehem Steel and a member of the Salisbury Motorcycle Club when he joined the US Army at the age of 19 and became a paratrooper. He landed on the beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He also participated in the North African and Middle Eastern campaigns in August, 1944. He was onboard Army Air Corps aircraft No. 20, dubbed "Satan's Fate," when it left the runway at Langar Airfield in England as one of approximately 1,500 planes for a 12-hour flight to Drop Zone T Groesbeek: Wylerbaan Road. Their mission was to "take Devil's Hill", a Nazi outpost 5 miles from the German border, and hold it until relief could arrive. A few miles from the drop zone, the C-47 was hit by intensive anti-aircraft flak. First Lt. Jim Martin, kept his burning plane in formation until Lt. John Foley's paratroopers had jumped. Eyewitnesses said the plane's wing crumbled and the plane fell into a field on Piet Martens' farm, on the outskirts of Groot-Linden. Pvt. Bellesfield, the last paratrooper to jump, was found dangling from the mangled fuselage by the strings of his parachute. On Sept. 18, 1945, a year and a day after he was declared MIA, the U.S. adjutant general's office informed Paul and Helen Bellesfield that their son had been killed in action. He was awarded a Purple Heart, held a Bronze Star, the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, the French Fourragere and the World War II Victory Medal. He was awarded European, African and Middle Eastern campaign medals, and bronze service stars from the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns. He also held marksmanship medals on the carbine rifle, submachine gun, machine gun and mortar.
Pvt. Bellesfield was originally buried in St. Lambertus Catholic Church Cemetery, Groot-Linden, Netherlands, but in March, 1946 his remains were exhumed and buried in the U. S. Military Cemetery Ardennes, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. In 1949, his remains were again exhumed and returned to Allentown, PA where he was buried at this site in St. Mark's Cemetery. In September, 1983, the town of Groot-Linden erected a plaque in memory of Pvt. Bellesfield. His name is engraved beneath a depiction of the "AA" airborne emblem.
He was the son of Paul C. and Helen (Diener) Bellesfield and was employed at the Bethlehem Steel and a member of the Salisbury Motorcycle Club when he joined the US Army at the age of 19 and became a paratrooper. He landed on the beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He also participated in the North African and Middle Eastern campaigns in August, 1944. He was onboard Army Air Corps aircraft No. 20, dubbed "Satan's Fate," when it left the runway at Langar Airfield in England as one of approximately 1,500 planes for a 12-hour flight to Drop Zone T Groesbeek: Wylerbaan Road. Their mission was to "take Devil's Hill", a Nazi outpost 5 miles from the German border, and hold it until relief could arrive. A few miles from the drop zone, the C-47 was hit by intensive anti-aircraft flak. First Lt. Jim Martin, kept his burning plane in formation until Lt. John Foley's paratroopers had jumped. Eyewitnesses said the plane's wing crumbled and the plane fell into a field on Piet Martens' farm, on the outskirts of Groot-Linden. Pvt. Bellesfield, the last paratrooper to jump, was found dangling from the mangled fuselage by the strings of his parachute. On Sept. 18, 1945, a year and a day after he was declared MIA, the U.S. adjutant general's office informed Paul and Helen Bellesfield that their son had been killed in action. He was awarded a Purple Heart, held a Bronze Star, the Netherlands Orange Lanyard, the French Fourragere and the World War II Victory Medal. He was awarded European, African and Middle Eastern campaign medals, and bronze service stars from the Normandy and Rhineland campaigns. He also held marksmanship medals on the carbine rifle, submachine gun, machine gun and mortar.
Pvt. Bellesfield was originally buried in St. Lambertus Catholic Church Cemetery, Groot-Linden, Netherlands, but in March, 1946 his remains were exhumed and buried in the U. S. Military Cemetery Ardennes, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium. In 1949, his remains were again exhumed and returned to Allentown, PA where he was buried at this site in St. Mark's Cemetery. In September, 1983, the town of Groot-Linden erected a plaque in memory of Pvt. Bellesfield. His name is engraved beneath a depiction of the "AA" airborne emblem.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
