Army Fire Fighting Platoons
| Fire Fighting Platoon Members Died in the Line of Duty Roll of Honor |
Private Lemial E. Clutter, 1204th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 23 April 43 Private Clutter was killed by a vehicle driven by a drunk driver at Casablanca, Morocco. 1st Lieutenant Charles M. King, 1206th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 24 March 1944 Lt. King was killed by machine gun fire from a German airplane at the Anzio Beachhead PFC Thomas R. Turcotte, 1208th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 18 Jan 1944 Unknown at this time Private Chester W. Owens, 1219th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 24 December 1944 Private Owens died from enemy artilery fire in the Ardennes, Belgium T/5 John E. Mister, 1221st Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 23 April 1944 Unknown at this time Unknown Personnel, 1226th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, August 1944 3 Unknown members of the 1226th, Normany, France T/5 Thomas E. Coleman, 1230th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 26 August 1944 Unknown at this time Unknown member, 1232nd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, February 1945 Member died from injuries when struck by machine gun fire from a German aircraft, Nancy, France PFC Thomas H. Leak, 1236th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 23 September 1944 Unknown at this time PFC Emile Turner, 1243rd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 23 February 1946 Unknown at this time PFC Luther Cooper, 1243rd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 29 May 1946 Unknown at this time Master Sergeant William H. Ware, 1249th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 1 July 1944 Unknown at this time Corporal Willie J. Banks, 1250th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 8 June 1944 Corporal Banks died from a gunshot wound he received in the camp area at Aversa, Italy 1st Lieutenant Otto M. Theurer, 1250th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 27 July 1944 Lt. Otto M. Theurer was killed while investigating an ammunition dump fire at Anzio, Italy. 2nd Lt. Orval V. Sawyer, 1250th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 21 January 1946 Unknown at this time. Staff Sergeant Samuel Turner, 1984th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 19 March 1944 Staff Sergeant Turner died while fighting an ammunition dump fire at Migano, Italy T/5 William H. Collins, 1986th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 16 April 1944 T/5 Clayton Jones Private John Puller The above members of the 1986th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon were killed when the bomb load on a burning B-24 bomber exploded at Manduria Airbase, Italy T/5 Louis Bice, 1989th Engineer Aivation Fire Fighting Platoon, 5 Feb 1945 T/5 Louis Bice died when the aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed near Rome, Itlay Private Jack Gibson, 1992nd Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 20 May 1944 Private Harland E. Owen Private Gibson and Owen were killed while engaged in fire fighting operations on a downed P-51 aircraft at Lucera Airbase, Foggia, Italy T/5 Elwood F. Evans, 1992nd Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 19 May 1945 Unknown at this time. Private Clifford Bell, 1995 Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 31 July 1944 Private Clifford Bell died of injuries recieved from an accidental shooting at Borgo Airbase, Italy Sgt. Lyles W. Densmore, 2010th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 29 March 1944 Richard Weigland The above members of the 2010th were killed when bombs exploded while engaged in firefighting and rescue operations when two Liberators which had collided in mid-air crashed to the ground 4 miles east of Halesworth Airbase, England. Staff Sergeant John F. Gallagher, 2014th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 18 June 1944 Staff Sergeant Gallagher was killed in a motor vehicle accident near Army Air Force Station #484, Folkingham, England Private First Class Fred H. Bothe, 2018th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 28 May 1944 Private Wood Hibbard Private Fred H. Bothe and Private Wood Hibbard were killed while fighting a fire in an aircraft that crashed at Ibsley Airbase, England Private First Class Carl A. Rogers, 2024th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 17 Dec 1943 PFC Rogers died from injuries received in a rail accident at Wattisham Airbase, England Private Donald E. Morgart and Sgt. Thomas A McKeon, 2025th Engineer Avn Fire Fighting Platoon, 23 April 1944 Firefighters were killed when the B-17 they were passengers on caught fire and crashed at Cooper Farm, Lawshall, 7 miles south of Bury St. Edmonds Airbase, England 1st Lieutenant William M. Shoemaker, 2027th Engineer Avn Fire Fighting Platoon, 3 Sept 1944 Lt Shoemaker was killed while engaged in firefighting operations when a Halifax bomber crashed and then exploded 7 miles from Duxford Airbase, England Sergeant Monroe Atchley, 2033rd Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 4 June 1044 Private Ted Bunalski Sergeant Monroe and Private Bunalski were killed while fighting a fire in an aircraft that crashed at Shipdham Airbase, England 1st. Lieutenant Laurence E. Radlinger, 2047th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 9 Dec 44 Sergeant Roy W. Jones Sergeant Charles R. Pick Corporal Inez G. Garcia T/5 Oscar R. Adams T/5 Charles P. Lavoy T/5 Harold A. Nelson T/5 Leo V. Page Private First Class George A. Felion Private First Class Armando R. Orante Private First Class Joseph H. Sandstrom Private James C. Brasington Private Carlos S. Perez Sergeant Lester C. Crabb T/5 Harry A. Dixon The above members of the 2047th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon were killed at Advance Landing Ground A-71, Chastres, France, when a B-26C, #42-107844, returning from an operational mission crashed at the East-West runway and immediately burst into flames. The two crash crews arrived at the scene of the crash at 1134 hours. The crash crew with the aid of the Medical Corps had rescued two of the wounded crew members. In an attempt to rescue the third member the bomb load which the plane was carrying detonated and resulted in the above casualties. 1st Lieutenant Alden B. Parker, 2058th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 1 January, 1944 Sergeant Elmer K. Juelg Corporial Wilbert G. Reiker T/5 Leonard S. Luczkowski T/5 Jerold M. Bostick died 3 Jan at hospital The above members of the 2058th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon were killed at Advanced landing Ground A-59,Cormeilles-en-vexin, France, when a plane taking off on a mission crashed and burned near the end of the runway. Three crew members of the plane escaped and a fourth was rescued by firefighters and carried to safety. Shortly thereafter, the bombs on board the aircraft exploded killing three firefighters, the fourth died within hours and the fifth died on 3 Jan 45. 1st Lieutenant Allison H. Chapin, 2086th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 20 February 1945 Lieutenant Allison Chaplin was injured on 19 February 1945 by a prematurely exploding rifle grenade in the Burma-India Theater and died from those injuries on 20 February 1945. Private First Class Clifford Gallina, 2086th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 27 May 1945 Private Clifford Gallina died when the C-47 aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed in the Burma- India Theater. Corporal Ed Paupas, 2096th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 21 March 1945 Corporal Ed Paupas was killed when he fell from the back of a moving crash truck and was struck by a jeep, Kimbolton Airbase, England. Private John F. Flahery, 2112th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 9 May 1944 Private John F. Flaherty was killed when a damaged aircraft returning from a mission crashed into his crash truck, Deopham Airbase, England. Private Joseph E. Zokvic, 2123rd Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 8 June 1944 Private Joseph E. Zokvic died from injuries received when the crash truck on which he was responding was struck by a vehicle at Wattisham Airbase, England Corporal Anthony G. Papaleo, 2145th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 8 June 1944 Corporal Anthony Papaleo was killed when a 500 lb bomb from a burning Libertor exploded in the vincinity Gosfield Airbase , England Private Willie Lovette, 3122nd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 1 February 1946 Unknown at this time PFC Fred Ethridge, 3122nd Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon Unknown at this time Sgt. Roland S. Epps, 3161st Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 10 February 1946 Roland’s unit was serving at Sumitomo Light Metals Co, Haniwara Branch of Nagoya, Japan, when at about 1:00 am on the morning of Sunday, February 10, 1946, a fire was accidentally started by a person on night patrol trying to light an oil burning heater in the room where Roland was sleeping. All others in the building at the time, some who were still awake, escaped the building, but Roland was unable to escape from his room and all efforts to rescue him failed. 1st Lieutenant Emile Joseph, 2150th Engineer Aviation Fire Fighting Platoon, 9 December 1944 Unknown at this time at Advanced Landing Ground A-68, Juvincourt, France. PFC Sherman Knights, 2794th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, 27 January 1946 T/5 Earl E. Spears Unknown at this time ****************************************** Sgt. Joseph J. Chagnon, Hicham Field Fire Department, 7 December 1941 Sgt. Joseph Chagnon died from injuries recieved from a bomb blast outside the Hickam Field Fire Station. Pvt. Leo D. Cooper, 1593rd Engineer Utilities Detachment, 21 Jan 1945 Pvt. Cooper died from injuries recieved while fighting a fire at the British POL Depot, Antwerp, Belgium. ***************************************** Seaman 1st Class Stanley D. Dosick, Headquarters, Naval Air Station, Kaneohe, Hi, 7 Dec 1941 Seaman Dosick was struck by machine gun fire from a Japanese aircraft while driving a Navy fire truck enroute to a fire at NAS, Kaneohe Bay, HI. ****************************************** Ship Fitter 3rd Class James W. Stewart, 110th Naval Construction Battalion Fire Department, Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, 18 March 1944. Seaman Stewart was killed while leading the fire department that was engaged in firefighting operations on a burning LCT when it exploded at Eniwetok. Before entering Navy service he was a member of the San Francisco Fire Department, |
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| My friend and fellow researcher Jim Davis at the gravesite of Pvt. Chester W. Owens at the Henri-Chaplelle Military Cemetery, Belgium. Pvt. Owens was a member of the 1219th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon and died 24 Dec 1944 from injuries recieved from enemy artillery in the Ardennes, Belgium. Thanks to Jim for the photo. |
| Private Ted R. Bunalski 2033rd Engineer Aviation FF Platoon KIA 4 June 44 |
| 2nd Lieutenant Orval V. Sawyer 2050th Engineer FF Platoon KIA 21 January 1946 |
| This "Died In The Line Of Duty" listing is a joint effort on the part of Jim Davis, former member of the 1204th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon; Allen Ward, Master Sergeant retired, US Army and Ted Heinbuch, former Army Firefighter Fort Riley, KS, Anne Arundel County FD, MD. retired. |
| Pvt. Donald E. Morgart 2025th EAFFP Cambridge American Cemetery, England Marshall, IA |
| Tec 5 Oscar R. Adams 2047th EAFFP Epinal American Cemetery, France Virginia |
| Pvt. Chester W. Owens 1219th EFFP Henri-Chaplette Cemetery, Belgium Arizona |
| Pvt. Ted R. Bunalski 2033rd EAFFP Beverly National Cemetery Beverly, N.J. |
| 1st Lt. Charles M. King 1206th EFFP Cedar Lawn Cemetery Patterson, NJ |
| Corporal Anthony G. Papaleo 2145th EAFFP KIA 8 June 1944 |
| 1st Lt. Laurence E. Radlinger 2047 EAFFP Epinal American Cemetery, France South Dakota |
| Sgt. Roland S. Epps 3161st EFFP KIA 10 February 1946 |