Wallace W. Bengson

BENGSON, Wallace Woodrow Servicenumber: O-374781 Age: 26 Born: 11 December 1917, Esmond, North dakota Hometown: Benson County, North Dakota Family: Oscar E. Bengson (father) Anna E. (Knutdson) Bengson (mother) Kenneth E. Bengson (brother) Virgil G. Bengson (brother) Mildred E. Bengson (sister) Carl M. Bengson (brother) Katherine M. (Nagel) Bengson (wife) Rank: First Lieutenant Function: Navigator Regiment: - Battalion: - Division €“ Transport: 8th Air Force Company €“ Squadron: 327th Bomber Squadron Unit €“ Group: 92nd Bomber Group, Heavy Plane data: (Serialnumber, MACR, etc.) Serialnumber: 43-38396 Type: B-17G Nickname: Insomnia Destination: Nurnberg, Germany MACR: 9344 Date of death: 3 October 1944 Status: KIA Place of death: Over Giesen, Germany Spot: Not available Awards: Purple Heart Gravenumber: Plot L, Row 16, Grave 16 Cemetery: American War Cemetery Margraten Biography: - Other information: Following high school graduation he attended the University of North Dakota in 1938 and graduated as a mining engineer. Immediately upon his graduation he was commissioned in the US Army Reserves, but was not called to active duty until January, 1942. He worked as a mining engineer in Idaho and Utah and married Katherine Nagel of Grand Forks in 1940 while in Idaho. He took special officers training at Fort Benning, Georgia and won both the wings of a pilot and a glider pilot. Prior to going into aviation as a bomber navigator in the spring of 1944, he was doing research work of a metallurgical nature in connection with aviation with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio. His work took him to practically every state in the Union. Returning from missions over Neuremburg, Germany, an accidental collision over Frankfort, Germany was the cause of a crash on October 3, 1944. He was officially declared dead June 9, 1944. The couple had no children. Two of our A/C from low squadron, the deputy lead A/C 445 and lead of high element A/C 396 collided North of Frankfort area. A/C 396 was seen to go down out of control with hole in right wing. This A/C is believed to have explode after falling below cloud cover. A/C 445 also was seen to go down out of control with tail section sheared off. There are the only A/C missing. Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Shirley LaFleur, Terry Hirsch, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - 1920 / 1930 census / Family Tree, www.fold3.com - WWII Registration Card Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Des Philippet, http://www.mocavo.com - University of North Dakota Yearbook - 1940