Technical Sergeant Gerard Francis Brown, Army serial number 32787731, was born at Jamaica, Queens County, New York on April 25, 1923. His parents were Frank W. Brown (abt 1888 – 5 Apr 1961) and Elizabeth Brown (abt 1888 – abt Jun 1923), who were born in New York. His mother gave him to Mrs. Elizabeth Backofen when he was six weeks old, and passed away soon after that. He was raised by his foster parents, Edward J. Backofen (abt 1887 – unk) and Elizabeth (Vanden Wyngaard) Backofen (31 Dec 1894 – Jan 1984). The Backofens had a son, Joseph Edward Backofen Sr (6 Feb 1920 – 8 Aug 1987). Gerard Brown lived with his foster family at 87-84 139th Street, Jamaica 2, Queens, Long Island, New York.

He registered for the draft at Jamaica, Queens, New York on June 30, 1942. At that time he was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed 148 pounds, and had gray eyes and brown hair. He was employed by Standard Vacuum Oil Company at 26 Broadway in New York City. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, and began his active duty service on February 8, 1943.

He went first to Miami Beach, Florida for basic training. From March to August 1943 he was assigned to Scott Field, Illinois, where he completed Army Air Forces radio operator training. From August to September 1943 he trained in aerial gunnery at Tyndall Field in Panama City, Florida. His next stop was the Army Air Base at Camp Kearns near Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was assigned as radio operator on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph A. Duncan.

Lt Duncan's crew was assigned to the 839th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52591 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

On May 11, 1944, Lt Duncan's crew flew B-24H 41-29481 on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The aircraft was severely damaged by flak as the formation flew over Chateaudun, France. Lt Duncan managed to get back to England, but the aircraft caught fire as it reached the English coast. Gerard Brown and his nine crewmates bailed out safely. Before he bailed out, Lt Duncan attempted to head the aircraft out to sea, but it turned and crashed in the village of Chichester.

In July 1944 the 487th Bomb Group transitioned to flying the B-17 'Flying Fortress'. On August 25, 1944, Lt Duncan's crew took off from Lavenham Airfield in B-17G 43-37980, the deputy lead aircraft of the Lead Squadron, on a mission to bomb the German airfield at Rechlin, Germany. Captain Winston S. Rogers flew in the copilot position as Air Leader. Copilot Lt James Hood Jr moved to the tail gunner position as Officer Tail Gunner and formation observer, as was the custom. Here is the crew roster on that day:

B-17G 43-37980 – 839th Bomb Squadron

• Duncan, Joseph A – 1/Lt – Pilot – POW

• Rogers, Winston S – Capt – Air Leader – KIA

• Jones, Richard L – Capt – Pilotage Navigator – KIA

• Friedman, Ely N – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA

• Dolan, James J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Henahan, Joseph W – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Brown, Gerard F – T/Sgt – Radio operator – KIA

• Everett, Lloyd E – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Brown, Rhodes L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA

• Wolyn, Monroe S – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

• Hood Jr, James – 2/Lt – Tail Gunner – MIA

T/Sgt Gerard Brown and eight crewmates were killed in action when the aircraft was hit by flak just after bombs away over Rechlin, Germany. The right outer wing was lost, and the burning aircraft went into a spin, exploded, and crashed in Muritz Lake (Müritzsee) near Boek, Germany, north of the target. Two crew members, 1/Lt Joseph Anderson Duncan and S/Sgt Monroe Stanley Wolyn, were blown clear and survived. Lt Hood apparently never left his position in the tail, and went down with the aircraft wreckage in Muritz Lake.

The body of T/Sgt Gerard Brown was recovered on the shore of Muritz Lake on September 20, 1944. His remains and those of seven of his crewmates were buried initially at the Retzow Cemetery in Retzow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, a short distance north of Rechlin Airfield. Lt Hood's body was never found, and his remains were deemed nonrecoverable in August 1949.

T/Sgt Brown's remains were disinterred from Retzow Cemetery on July 17, 1947, moved to the U.S. Military Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, and reinterred there in Plot AA, Row 11, Grave 255. After final confirmation of the identity of his remains, they were permanently reinterred at then renamed Ardennes American Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium on April 11, 1950. He is buried in Plot A, Row 33, Grave 51.

Sources:

1. 49 Squadron Association. Retzow Cemetery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

2. 487th Bomb Group Association

3. 487th Bomb Group Formation Diagram for 25 Aug 1944.

4. 1920 US Census; New York; Queens County; New York City; Borough of Queens. Brown, Frank W. Jan 1920 (his father)

5. 1925 New York State Census; Queens County; 91-18 139th St; Brown, Frank W. 1 Jun 1925 (his father)

6. 1930 US Census; New York; Queens County; New York City; Borough of Queens. Brown, Frank. Apr 1930 (his father)

7. 1940 US Census; New York; Queens County; New York City; Borough of Queens; 87-84 139th Street. Backofen, Edward J. 2 Apr 1940 (his foster father)

8. American Battle Monuments Commission

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

10. Green, Ken. The Day the Liberator Crashed on Chichester, 11th May 1944. Chichester, England: Chichester Local History Society, 2010

11. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 March 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon order to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England)

12. New York State Health Department, Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957–1963: Frank W. Brown, age 72, died at Patterson, Putnam County, New York on 5 Apr 1961.

13. Social Security Death Index

14. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 8470

15. U.S. Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Technical Records Section. Individual Deceased Personnel File of T/Sgt Gerard F. Brown, 32787731 (aka '293 File'; includes correspondence between Mrs. Elizabeth Backofen and Department of the Army)

16. U.S. Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949 (ancestry.com)

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

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

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572

Last edited 3 Mar 2024