Gonsalves was the radio operator on a B-17E bomber assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron. On June 4, 1942 Gonsalves's and another plane flew a daylight mission to bomb shipping in the Irrawaddy River in Burma. One crewman was killed and the plane suffered heavy damage from a squadron of enemy fighters. The crew was forced to bail out at a low altitude before the pilot and co-pilot finally crash landed the aircraft. Gonsalves and five of his crewmates were captured by the Japanese and held as prisoners of war in Rangoon prison. On November 29, 1943 he was killed in an allied bombing raid.
Gonsalves was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
On May 17, 1946 a C-47B cargo plane took off from Rangoon carrying the remains of Gonsalves and approximately forty other service men who died as prisoners of war. They were to be returned to the United States, however the plane crashed in a storm in India, killing the three man crew as well as the eight passengers from the American Graves Registration Service. The wreckage was discovered by Clayton Kuhles in 2009, and efforts are being made to return the remains to the US.
Because his body was not recovered, he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing.
Gonsalves was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
On May 17, 1946 a C-47B cargo plane took off from Rangoon carrying the remains of Gonsalves and approximately forty other service men who died as prisoners of war. They were to be returned to the United States, however the plane crashed in a storm in India, killing the three man crew as well as the eight passengers from the American Graves Registration Service. The wreckage was discovered by Clayton Kuhles in 2009, and efforts are being made to return the remains to the US.
Because his body was not recovered, he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing.
Gonsalves was the radio operator on a B-17E bomber assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron. On June 4, 1942 Gonsalves's and another plane flew a daylight mission to bomb shipping in the Irrawaddy River in Burma. One crewman was killed and the plane suffered heavy damage from a squadron of enemy fighters. The crew was forced to bail out at a low altitude before the pilot and co-pilot finally crash landed the aircraft. Gonsalves and five of his crewmates were captured by the Japanese and held as prisoners of war in Rangoon prison. On November 29, 1943 he was killed in an allied bombing raid.
Gonsalves was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
On May 17, 1946 a C-47B cargo plane took off from Rangoon carrying the remains of Gonsalves and approximately forty other service men who died as prisoners of war. They were to be returned to the United States, however the plane crashed in a storm in India, killing the three man crew as well as the eight passengers from the American Graves Registration Service. The wreckage was discovered by Clayton Kuhles in 2009, and efforts are being made to return the remains to the US.
Because his body was not recovered, he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing.
Gonsalves was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
On May 17, 1946 a C-47B cargo plane took off from Rangoon carrying the remains of Gonsalves and approximately forty other service men who died as prisoners of war. They were to be returned to the United States, however the plane crashed in a storm in India, killing the three man crew as well as the eight passengers from the American Graves Registration Service. The wreckage was discovered by Clayton Kuhles in 2009, and efforts are being made to return the remains to the US.
Because his body was not recovered, he is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from California.
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