AAF Staff Sgt. Elmer Marvin Ripley from Onida, South Dakota - 327th bomb squadron, 92nd bomb group.
On 12 Aug 1943, Ripley was the tail gunner on a mission to take out the rubber plant at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr Valley. Their B17 #42-5801 known as "Flak Happy" was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed on the coast of Holland. Those who survived were taken prisoner at one of the Nazis' harshest prisons, Stalag Luft 17b at Krems, Austria. Ripley is on the roster of POWs in Barracks 39B in that camp. Liberation came in early May of 1945.
Elmer married Betty Jayne Kennedy and they raised a family of six. After the war, Elmer farmed for a few years. Then, in 1950, they moved to Onida where he was employed by the Sully County Highway Department. After his retirement in 1985, he was elected to the Sully County Commission.
Elmer was a member of the Onida Volunteer Fire Department, the VFW, and the American Legion Post 79.
Source: FOLD3
On 12 Aug 1943, Ripley was the tail gunner on a mission to take out the rubber plant at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr Valley. Their B17 #42-5801 known as "Flak Happy" was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed on the coast of Holland. Those who survived were taken prisoner at one of the Nazis' harshest prisons, Stalag Luft 17b at Krems, Austria. Ripley is on the roster of POWs in Barracks 39B in that camp. Liberation came in early May of 1945.
Elmer married Betty Jayne Kennedy and they raised a family of six. After the war, Elmer farmed for a few years. Then, in 1950, they moved to Onida where he was employed by the Sully County Highway Department. After his retirement in 1985, he was elected to the Sully County Commission.
Elmer was a member of the Onida Volunteer Fire Department, the VFW, and the American Legion Post 79.
Source: FOLD3
AAF Staff Sgt. Elmer Marvin Ripley from Onida, South Dakota - 327th bomb squadron, 92nd bomb group.
On 12 Aug 1943, Ripley was the tail gunner on a mission to take out the rubber plant at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr Valley. Their B17 #42-5801 known as "Flak Happy" was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed on the coast of Holland. Those who survived were taken prisoner at one of the Nazis' harshest prisons, Stalag Luft 17b at Krems, Austria. Ripley is on the roster of POWs in Barracks 39B in that camp. Liberation came in early May of 1945.
Elmer married Betty Jayne Kennedy and they raised a family of six. After the war, Elmer farmed for a few years. Then, in 1950, they moved to Onida where he was employed by the Sully County Highway Department. After his retirement in 1985, he was elected to the Sully County Commission.
Elmer was a member of the Onida Volunteer Fire Department, the VFW, and the American Legion Post 79.
Source: FOLD3
On 12 Aug 1943, Ripley was the tail gunner on a mission to take out the rubber plant at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr Valley. Their B17 #42-5801 known as "Flak Happy" was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed on the coast of Holland. Those who survived were taken prisoner at one of the Nazis' harshest prisons, Stalag Luft 17b at Krems, Austria. Ripley is on the roster of POWs in Barracks 39B in that camp. Liberation came in early May of 1945.
Elmer married Betty Jayne Kennedy and they raised a family of six. After the war, Elmer farmed for a few years. Then, in 1950, they moved to Onida where he was employed by the Sully County Highway Department. After his retirement in 1985, he was elected to the Sully County Commission.
Elmer was a member of the Onida Volunteer Fire Department, the VFW, and the American Legion Post 79.
Source: FOLD3
Inscription
SSGT US ARMY AIR CORPS WWII
Family Members
Other Records
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
