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People Names and Dates

Full Name Charles A Rath
AKA Full Name
People ID 675553
Title
First Name Charles
AKA First Name
Nickname
Middle Name A
AKA Middle
Patronymic/Matronymic
Priorsurnames
Surname Rath
AKA Surname
Father's Surname Rath
Mother's Surname Kujawa
Suffix
Gender Male
Full Birth Date If Known 1922-10-11
Birth Year 1922
Birth Month 10
Birth Day 11
Full Death Date If Known 1944-10-19
Death Year 1944
Death Month 10
Death Day 19

Events, Dates and Places

Event Date Geo Top Level Geo 2nd Level Geo 3rd Level Geo 4th Level Geo 5th Level Notes
Birth1922/10/11USAIllinoisCookChicago
Death1944/10/19Germany
Obituary Published1945/10/19USAIllinoisCookChicagoDaily Times (Chicago), page 101

Relationships

Relationship Related To Relative's People ID Relative's Birth Year Relative's Death Year Other Date (typically Marriage Date)
Son ofJoseph C Rath67566418971974
Son ofFrances Kujawa Rath67566519001971

Military Service

Rank If Known Or Highest Or Final Rank Branch of Service Beginning Date if Known End Date if Known
2nd LieutenantUS Army Air Force/Air Forces

Military Actions Served During

World War II

Interment, Inurnment or Memorialization Information

Cemetery Body Lost or Destroyed
Address
City/Town N/A
County/District N/A
State/Province N/A
Postal/Zip Code
Country/Principality N/A
Organization
Property Type
Has Marker
No Marker
Is Cenotaph
GPS/LatLong Coordinates
End of Interment RecordIf there are additional interments or cenotaphs for this person they will appear below
  
Cemetery Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Address 2900 Sheridan Road
City/Town Saint Louis
County/District St. Louis City
State/Province Missouri
Postal/Zip Code 63125
Country/Principality USA
Organization
Property TypeCenotaph
Has MarkerYes
No Marker
Is CenotaphYes
GPS/LatLong Coordinates
End of Interment RecordIf there are additional interments or cenotaphs for this person they will appear below
  

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Other Information

Biographical or other information about the person

https://mills-sfv.com/Genealogy/GLS/People/Text/675553.txt

Lieutenant Rath was the co-pilot of the 8th Air Force B-24H nicknamed "Bomber's Moon" (aircraft number 42-94903) which collided with another B-24 ("Pregnant Peggy", 42-94913) on a bombing mission over Germany. Most of the crew of both planes were killed but two crew members from each plane managed to parachute out and were taken prisoner. MACR 9636.

Other crew members of Bomber's Moon:

John M Aiken Jr (2nd Lieutenant, Pilot) MIA changed to KIA
Bruce D Anderson (Sergeant, Right Waist Gunner) MIA/KIA
Loyola F Dougherty (2nd Lieutenant, Navigator) MIA/KIA
Daniel D Dudek (Sergeant, Tail Gunner) POW
Virgil Everhart (Staff Sergeant, Radio Operator) MIA/KIA
Lewis C Francis (Flight Officer, Bombardier) MIA/KIA
Clarence J Harding (Sergeant, Waist Gunner) POW
Glen L Smith (Staff Sergeant, Flight Engineer) MIA/KIA

Crew members of Pregnant Peggy:

Robert R. Butler, Jr (Staff Sergeant, Top Turret Gunner/Engineer) MIA/KIA
John H Crompton (Sergeant, Nose Gunner) MIA/KIA
Robert J Hurley (2nd Lieutenant, Bombardier) MIA/KIA
Eugene I Kader (Staff Sergeant, Tail Gunner) MIA/KIA
Lloyd W Krumrey (2nd Lieutenant, Co-Pilot) POW
Lee B Lithander (2nd Lieutenant, Pilot) MIA/KIA
Richard F Phillippy (Staff Sergeant, Radio Operator) POW
Henry L Stock (Sergeant, Waist Gunner) MIA/KIA
Geza Torok (Sergeant, Waist Gunner) MIA/KIA

I never found a proper obituary for Lieutenant Rath (the link below under other websites was a notice his family posted in the obituaries a year after his death) but this newspaper article mentioned the name of his mother and how she was given the Air Medal he received posthumously.

This page is his information on the American Air Museum in Britain website.

He had a younger brother Joseph and a younger sister, Elaine Rath Grochocki. At the time of his father's death in 1974 they were both still alive, although it is very likely that Joseph has passed as he would be 94 years old at this writing (Elaine, if she is still alive, is only in her 80s).

The cenotaph for Charles at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery lists his fellow aircrew with the exception of Bruce Anderson. Apparently Bruce's body was recovered and he is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery in France.


Air Medal
Purple Heart
Small notes (field in database                      
50 characters max)
Family Search ID G3GV-DTV
Find A Grave 1 40255590
Famous per Find A Grave
Famous per Consensus
Find A Grave 2
Find A Grave 3
BillionGraves Record ID
Other websites https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A176820A8B9EC1C11%40GB3NEWS-16E10B9CE5BC5BAA%402431748-16DFC9002FF339B0%40100-16DFC9002FF339B0%40
Record Entry Date 2019-11-11 12:35:24
Record Last Edit Date 2019-11-26 20:05:00

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