Sergeant Roy Jensen Zaiger, Army serial number 39339753, was born at Kennard, Washington County, Nebraska on January 13, 1925. He was one of at least twelve children of Christian Frederick 'Chris' Zaiger (10 Mar 1890 – 28 Feb 1976), who was born at Gray, Audubon County, Iowa; and Anna Marie (Jensen) Zaiger (17 Sep 1894 – 26 Oct 1974), who was born at Shelby County, Iowa. His father's parents were born in Germany; his mother's parents were born in Denmark.

His parents married at Audubon County, Iowa on September 24, 1914. His father was a farmer in Audubon County, Iowa and in Washington County, Nebraska. In 1940 the family lived at West Chehalem (aka Newberg) in Yamhill County, Oregon, and his father was a laborer on a truck farm. In 1942 they lived at Cornelius, Washington County, Oregon; and by 1944 they lived at Banks, Washington County, Oregon.

He completed three years of high school and registered for the draft at Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon in 1943. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived with his parents at Cornelius, Oregon and was employed by Willamette Iron & Steel in Portland, Oregon. He worked as a farm hand and was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Portland, Oregon on September 16, 1943.

He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as waist gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Claude E. Gatlin Jr. The Gatlin crew completed operational training in the States and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Station 137 by November 28, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Gatlin's crew roster on December 31, 1944:

B-17G 42-97398 – 836th Bomb Squadron crew (838th Bomb Squadron aircraft)

• Gatlin Jr, Claude E – 2/Lt – Pilot – MIA

• Uber, Frank J – 2/Lt – Copilot – MIA

• Smathers, Harold E – F/O – Navigator – MIA

• Bybee, Melvin G – Sgt – Togglier – MIA

• King, Robert H – Sgt – Engineer – MIA

• Mitchell, Bruce R – Sgt – Radio Operator – MIA

• Wright, George T – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – MIA

• Zaiger, Roy J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – MIA

• Kane, Stephen P – Sgt – Tail Gunner – MIA

Sgt Zaiger and his eight crewmates went missing in action on December 31, 1944, when their aircraft, B-17G 42-97398, went missing during a mission to Hamburg, Germany. After takeoff, the aircraft was never seen in formation, and the aircraft and crew were never found. They probably went down in the North Sea.

Sgt Zaiger and his crewmates are memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery near Madingley, England.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1910 US Census; Iowa; Audubon County; Cameron Township. Zaiger, John. 18 Apr 1910 (his father's father)

3. 1920 US Census; Iowa; Audubon County; Hamlin Township. Zaiger, Chris F. 6 Jan 1920 (his father)

4. 1930 US Census; Nebraska; Washington County; Blair Township. Zaiger, Chris. 9 Apr 1930 (his father)

5. 1940 US Census; Oregon; Yamhill County; West Chehalem. Zaiger, Chris F. 2 Apr 1940 (his father)

6. American Battle Monuments Commission

7. California Death Records. Zaiger, Chris F; born 10 Mar 1890 in Iowa; died 28 Feb 1976 in Stanislaus County, California (his father)

8. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004

9. Enlistment Record of Roy J. Zaiger

10. Find A Grave. John H. Zaiger Obituary (his brother)

11. Headquarters, Army Air Forces Station 137, APO 559. Special Orders Number 217. 30 Nov 1944 (order that assigned the crew of Lt Claude E. Gatlin Jr to the 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, effective 28 Nov 1944)

12. Iowa Gravestone Photo Project. Zaiger Burials in Iowa

13. Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992. Chris Zaiger married Anna Jensen at Audubon County, Iowa, on 24 Sep 1914 (his parents)

14. Mundia.com (ancestry.com) profiles of Christian Frederick Zaiger (1890-1976)

15. Roy Jensen Zaiger (1925–1944) in Zaiger family tree (ancestry.com)

16. Social Security Death Index

17. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 11352

18. U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA); see Our Missing, World War II

19. U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939–1945

20. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946

21. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)

22. West Hawaii Today. Dolliver Zaiger Obituary. 13 Oct 2012 (his brother)

23. World War I Draft Registration of Chris F. Zaiger. 5 Jun 1917 (his father)

24. World War II Draft Registration of Chris F. Zaiger. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572

Last edited 27 May 2024