Suggested edit from FAG Contributor (49039178)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Ralph D. Kolb, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
--------------------------------------------
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb DFC KIA
Hometown: Arkansas.
Squadron 343rd 98th BG
Service# 18166531
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT Lawrence L. Hadcock KIA
Target:Campina, Rumania - Ploesti
Mission: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40655
Aircraft Model B-24D-
Aircraft Letter: S
Aircraft Name:FOUR EYES
Location: Fighter -- 9 KIA (2 from 389th BG )
Sgt Kolb was a gunner in the 98th Bomb Group when he was killed. His name appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy, his body was never recovered.
Sgt Kolb was a recipient of the Distinguished flying cross for his participation in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98th destroys the Romanian oil refinery.
The "FOUR EYES" Crew
1st/Lt Lawrence Hadcock Pilot
2nd/Lt. John E. Kraft Co Pilot
2nd/Lt. William R. De Busks Navigator
2nd/Lt. Peter A. Timpo Bombardier
T/Sgt. James B. Hale
T/Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitzz Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Eugene J. O'Mara Gunner
S/Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin
Suggested edit from:Contributor (48612389
*** FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT for 14 JUNE 2023 ***
PRESS RELEASE | April 27, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Kolb, R.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb, 19, of McGehee, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Kolb was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kolb was the assistant radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Kolb's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Kolb's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Kolb will be buried in McGehee, Arkansas on June 14, 2023.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Ralph D. Kolb, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
--------------------------------------------
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb DFC KIA
Hometown: Arkansas.
Squadron 343rd 98th BG
Service# 18166531
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT Lawrence L. Hadcock KIA
Target:Campina, Rumania - Ploesti
Mission: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40655
Aircraft Model B-24D-
Aircraft Letter: S
Aircraft Name:FOUR EYES
Location: Fighter -- 9 KIA (2 from 389th BG )
Sgt Kolb was a gunner in the 98th Bomb Group when he was killed. His name appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy, his body was never recovered.
Sgt Kolb was a recipient of the Distinguished flying cross for his participation in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98th destroys the Romanian oil refinery.
The "FOUR EYES" Crew
1st/Lt Lawrence Hadcock Pilot
2nd/Lt. John E. Kraft Co Pilot
2nd/Lt. William R. De Busks Navigator
2nd/Lt. Peter A. Timpo Bombardier
T/Sgt. James B. Hale
T/Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitzz Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Eugene J. O'Mara Gunner
S/Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin
Suggested edit from:Contributor (48612389
*** FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT for 14 JUNE 2023 ***
PRESS RELEASE | April 27, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Kolb, R.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb, 19, of McGehee, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Kolb was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kolb was the assistant radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Kolb's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Kolb's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Kolb will be buried in McGehee, Arkansas on June 14, 2023.
Suggested edit from FAG Contributor (49039178)
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Ralph D. Kolb, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
--------------------------------------------
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb DFC KIA
Hometown: Arkansas.
Squadron 343rd 98th BG
Service# 18166531
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT Lawrence L. Hadcock KIA
Target:Campina, Rumania - Ploesti
Mission: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40655
Aircraft Model B-24D-
Aircraft Letter: S
Aircraft Name:FOUR EYES
Location: Fighter -- 9 KIA (2 from 389th BG )
Sgt Kolb was a gunner in the 98th Bomb Group when he was killed. His name appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy, his body was never recovered.
Sgt Kolb was a recipient of the Distinguished flying cross for his participation in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98th destroys the Romanian oil refinery.
The "FOUR EYES" Crew
1st/Lt Lawrence Hadcock Pilot
2nd/Lt. John E. Kraft Co Pilot
2nd/Lt. William R. De Busks Navigator
2nd/Lt. Peter A. Timpo Bombardier
T/Sgt. James B. Hale
T/Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitzz Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Eugene J. O'Mara Gunner
S/Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin
Suggested edit from:Contributor (48612389
*** FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT for 14 JUNE 2023 ***
PRESS RELEASE | April 27, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Kolb, R.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb, 19, of McGehee, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Kolb was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kolb was the assistant radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Kolb's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Kolb's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Kolb will be buried in McGehee, Arkansas on June 14, 2023.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Ralph D. Kolb, 19, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
--------------------------------------------
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb DFC KIA
Hometown: Arkansas.
Squadron 343rd 98th BG
Service# 18166531
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/LT Lawrence L. Hadcock KIA
Target:Campina, Rumania - Ploesti
Mission: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40655
Aircraft Model B-24D-
Aircraft Letter: S
Aircraft Name:FOUR EYES
Location: Fighter -- 9 KIA (2 from 389th BG )
Sgt Kolb was a gunner in the 98th Bomb Group when he was killed. His name appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy, his body was never recovered.
Sgt Kolb was a recipient of the Distinguished flying cross for his participation in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98th destroys the Romanian oil refinery.
The "FOUR EYES" Crew
1st/Lt Lawrence Hadcock Pilot
2nd/Lt. John E. Kraft Co Pilot
2nd/Lt. William R. De Busks Navigator
2nd/Lt. Peter A. Timpo Bombardier
T/Sgt. James B. Hale
T/Sgt. Lawrence E. Reitzz Radio Op.
S/Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Robert C. Elliott Gunner
S/Sgt. Eugene J. O'Mara Gunner
S/Sgt. Zelwood A. Gravlin
Suggested edit from:Contributor (48612389
*** FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT for 14 JUNE 2023 ***
PRESS RELEASE | April 27, 2023
Airman Accounted For From World War II (Kolb, R.)
WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Ralph D. Kolb, 19, of McGehee, Arkansas, killed during World War II, was accounted for Sept. 14, 2022.
In the summer of 1943, Kolb was assigned to the 343rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kolb was the assistant radio operator was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification.
To identify Kolb's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Kolb's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Kolb will be buried in McGehee, Arkansas on June 14, 2023.
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