Crash Site Douglas Dakota C47 42-23638

Memorial to the Douglas C-47 Dakota 42-23638 piloted by 1st Lieutenant William R. Hitztaler and belonging to the 14th Troop Carrier Squadron, 61st Troop Carrier Group, 52nd Troop Carrier Wing of the 9th Troop Carrier Command, shot down by German anti-aircraft guns on 6 June 1944 over Negreville in Normandy with paratroopers from F Company, 507th Parachute Infantry Division, 82nd Airborne Division.

Hitztaler has time to give the jump order to the 19 paratroopers scheduled to be dropped over the coded "T" drop zone, more than 12 kilometers to the southeast. But paratroopers Donn W. Commings and Charles George Stout are injured by the explosions and the radio operator, S/Sgt Orlo A. Montgomery, is mortally wounded. The other paratroopers and crew members have just enough time to jump before the crash: the Douglas C-47 crashes in the town of Clos Neuf, the hamlet of Rouville, northwest of Négreville. The remains of at least two bodies have been found in the wreckage of the plane: the remains of Charles George Stout have been identified, but Orlo A. Montgomery is missing.

Crew :
Pilot: 1st Lieutenant William R. Hitztaler
Co-pilot: 2nd Lieutenant Stanley E. Edwards Jr.
Navigator: 2nd Lieutenant John Herbert Hendry
Radio Operator: S/Sgt Orlo A. Montgomery
Mechanic: T/Sgt Alvin F. Vezin

Paratroopers :
1st Lt Walter C. Heisler
Sergeant Carl R. Letson
Sergeant Harry E. LaChance Jr.
T/5 William P. Emmet
Cpl Joseph E. Romas
Pvt Ricardo R. Alvarez
Pvt Donn W. Cummings
Pvt Bernard D. Ely
Pvt John L. Ponder
Pvt Olivier Lindberg
Pvt Weldon F. Truett
Pvt Charles G. Stout
Pfc Glenn Ball
Pfc George R. Hitchcock
Pfc John E. Hollmann
Pfc Robert T. Hurley
Pfc Blair W. Terryberry
Pfc John C. Wagner
Pfc Robert R. Taylor

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Source

• Text: Rudi Triki
• Photos: Rudi Triki