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World War II - Golden Pilot's Class Ring - Freeman Field Indiana

These are all the destroyed aircrafts in Eindhoven. Most of them were destroyed in the airport. Only a few crashed in the city itself:


T3379 4-feb-44 1250 Eindhoven (Airport.) B-17 G 42-39771 91BG/401BS 2nd Lt. J.P. Lutz B 1944 American Bomber
T3454 22-feb-44 1515 Eindhoven (ZO van) P-47 C 41-6335 78FG/83FS 2nd Lt. J.H. Johnson B 1944 American Fighter
T3764 8-jun-44 1115 Eindhoven (Blaarthemseweg 80-50) P-38 A 42-12981 7PG/14PS Capt. R.R. Nelson B 1944 American Fighter
T4128 18-sep-44 Eindhoven - Turnhout P-47 D 42-26337 56FG/62FS 2nd Lt. T.A. Edwards B 1944 American Fighter
T4228 21-sep-44 1734 Eindhoven (Zwaanstraat) Dakota III KG566 233 Sqdn F/O. C.D. Hamilton B 1944 American Transport
T4397 27-sep-44 900 Eindhoven (Airport.) Boston III BZ338 342 Sqdn Sgt. G. Martin B 1944 American Bomber
T4496 7-okt-44 Eindhoven (Airport.) Mustang I AM210 430 Sqdn F/Lt. W.M. Middleton B 1944 American Fighter
T4522 11-okt-44 1655 Eindhoven (buurt van Airport.) Mustang I AG514 430 Sqdn F/Lt. I.M. Duff B 1944 American Fighter
T4583 28-okt-44 1650 Eindhoven (buurt van Airport.) Mustang I AM153 430 Sqdn F/O. McMahon B 1944 American Fighter
T4591 29-okt-44 1610 Eindhoven (buurt van) Mitchell II FV967 180 Sqdn Lt. J.R.C. Armstrong B 1944 American Bomber
T4656A 7-nov-44 Eindhoven (Airport.) Hudson VI FK482 MCS - O 1944 American Bomber
T4750 29-nov-44 Eindhoven (Airport.) Boston IIIa BZ271 342 Sqdn Sgt. M. Chaussard B 1944 American Bomber
T5072A 3-jan-45 1600 Eindhoven (Airport.) Mustang III HB828 122 Sqdn - O 1945 American Fighter
T5093 14-jan-45 1430 Eindhoven - Geldrop Mitchell III KJ595 180 Sqdn F/O. Carpentor B 1945 American Bomber
T5259 16-feb-45 Eindhoven (Airport.) Mitchell II FR145 320 Sqdn P/O. H. Moore B 1945 American Bomber
T5300 24-feb-45 Eindhoven (Airport.) Boston IIIA BZ377 88 Sqdn - O 1945 American Bomber
T5542 10-apr-45 1600 Eindhoven (Airport.) P-51 D 4FG/334FS Lt. R.J. Miller B 1945 American Fighter/Bomber
T5397 19-mrt-45 1025 Eindhoven (Airport.) Mustang III FB109 122 Sqdn - O 1945 American Fighter
T5411 21-mrt-45 Eindhoven (Airport.) Mitchell II FW256 98 Sqdn P/O. R.M. Perkins O 1945 American Bomber
T5423 22-mrt-45 Eindhoven (Airport.) B-26 394BG/586BS Col. J.M. Silk O 1945 American Bomber
 
T3764 8-jun-44 1115 Eindhoven (Blaarthemseweg 80-50) P-38 A 42-12981 7PG/14PS Capt. R.R. Nelson B 1944 American Fighter

This pilot is not on the Freeman list.


T4228 21-sep-44 1734 Eindhoven (Zwaanstraat) Dakota III KG566 233 Sqdn F/O. C.D. Hamilton B 1944 American Transport

"Douglas Dakota KG566 of 233 Sqn RAF took off from RAF Station Blakehill Farm at 13:20 hours on 21 September 1944, to carry out a mission dropping panniers in an Operation Market Garden resupply operation on a DE in the Arnhem area.
This aircraft was one of twenty which were engaged on the operation and the Captains of other aircraft on the mission reported intense enemy opposition in the form of flak and fighter aircraft were encountered around the target area. No reports were received from KG566 which did not return from the mission. It was assumed that the aircraft was shot down in or around the target area."

So this was a Brittish crew.

No matches with crashed airplanes in Eindhoven.
 
Time for another approach:

All pilots that crashed in the Netherlands in a P-38 Lightning with a match in the Freeman list:

T3484 29-feb-44 1230 Beemster (Jisperweg) P-38 J 42-67831 20FG/77FS 2nd Lt. R.P. Johnson B
T3724 25-mei-44 955 Nieuw- en Sint Joosland (Boondijk) P-38 J 42-67929 20FG/79FS 2nd Lt. H.J. Watson B
T4174 19-sep-44 Breskens (Z van) P-38 B 42-67342 7PRG/27PRSq Lt. G. Parker B
T4359 25-sep-44 1730 Huissen (Rietkamp) P-38 B 42-67331 7PRG/27PRS 1st Lt. W. McDonald B

None of them is close to Eindhoven, the closest is Huissen (50 miles).

Another dead end...

743px-P-38_2.jpg
 
Not sure if you are all interested in my ongoing research. Shall I only post if I have a positive result or do you want to read about all the dead ends?
 
My next step will be a complete match of the 2 databases. I have 701 American planes that crashed in my country during WWII, with the names of their commanders and the 4000 students of the Freeman list. I need to match it on family name and initials.

Crash list:

J.T. Slater
C.C. Wall
N.B. Cargile


Freeman list:

Abbott, Jack L.
Abbott, 2nd Lt. Woodrow A., Student Officer
Abbott, Francis W.

I will not do this manually, but i will use a database program to change the values on the Freeman list:

- Delete all words like "Lt.", "Student", "Officer"
- Keep only the first letter of the first name and add a dot.
- Remove the comma's
- Put the initials in front of the last name

After the data change the Freeman list looks like this:

J.L. Abbott
W.A. Abbott
F.W. Abbott
etc...

Now I can make a automated match between the 2 databases.
 
This match of the 2 lists just had one big problem: I have only the names of the commanders of the airplanes. I need to find other databases like:

- The list of American soldiers on the cemetery of Margraten (8301 graves)
- other lists?
 
I have read the entire posts, unbelievable. By the way, have you gone back to where you found the ring and looked around some more for additional information? Maybe, you can find some collaborating information, great stuff and that ring is real nice
 
I have read the entire posts, unbelievable. By the way, have you gone back to where you found the ring and looked around some more for additional information? Maybe, you can find some collaborating information, great stuff and that ring is real nice

I did not find the ring myself, but a friend of mine did. Don't know the exact spot where he found it yet. I will talk to him again next wednesday I hope.
 
Ex, were there US air units stationed in Eindhoven area during the later parts of the war? Or immediately after the war? Might not be from a crash.

Voriax
 
Freeman Field

Freeman Field (AAF) was a twin-engine flight school at Seymour, Indiana. Each of the hundreds of cadet graduates could purchase the ring in the Exchange. The plane depicted on the side is a two-seater AT-10 Beechcraft, made mostly of wood.

Freeman Field, after the close of WW2, and for one short year was the depository for captured enemy planes. Some were flown to Freeman, or brought over on ships. German, Japanese, Italian, British and Experimental American planes were once here. All were restored and evaluated and either passed on to Wright-Patterson AB, Columbus, Ohio, or to the various museums. Most of the planes you see in these museums that carry "FE" on the tail (Foreign Evaluation) were originally at Freeman.

Visit www.IndianaMilitary.org for the official website for the Freeman Air Museum and many other Bases and posts in South Central Indiana.

Jim West, Webmaster
 
Freeman Field (AAF) was a twin-engine flight school at Seymour, Indiana. Each of the hundreds of cadet graduates could purchase the ring in the Exchange. The plane depicted on the side is a two-seater AT-10 Beechcraft, made mostly of wood.

Freeman Field, after the close of WW2, and for one short year was the depository for captured enemy planes. Some were flown to Freeman, or brought over on ships. German, Japanese, Italian, British and Experimental American planes were once here. All were restored and evaluated and either passed on to Wright-Patterson AB, Columbus, Ohio, or to the various museums. Most of the planes you see in these museums that carry "FE" on the tail (Foreign Evaluation) were originally at Freeman.

Visit www.IndianaMilitary.org for the official website for the Freeman Air Museum and many other Bases and posts in South Central Indiana.

Jim West, Webmaster


Thank you for this information Jim! Do you know if there is a list of Freeman Field students that were killed during the war?
 
There is a list of graduates at www.IndianaMilitary.org (click on Freeman AAF and then Graduation Classes)

I add a note for each when I discover anything about them. Do you have such a list ?

I see references in this forum regarding a "Freeman List". Is this a Seymour, Indiana - Freeman Field Pilot list ? Where/how may I get a copy, if that is what it is ?
 
My next step will be a complete match of the 2 databases. I have 701 American planes that crashed in my country during WWII, with the names of their commanders and the 4000 students of the Freeman list. I need to match it on family name and initials.

Crash list:

J.T. Slater
C.C. Wall
N.B. Cargile


Freeman list:

Abbott, Jack L.
Abbott, 2nd Lt. Woodrow A., Student Officer
Abbott, Francis W.

I will not do this manually, but i will use a database program to change the values on the Freeman list:

- Delete all words like "Lt.", "Student", "Officer"
- Keep only the first letter of the first name and add a dot.
- Remove the comma's
- Put the initials in front of the last name

After the data change the Freeman list looks like this:

J.L. Abbott
W.A. Abbott
F.W. Abbott
etc...

Now I can make a automated match between the 2 databases.
What "Freeman List" are you talking about changing ?
 
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