670th BS Patch

416th Bombardment Group (L)

S/Sgt. Freeland Madison Tharp

Airplane Mechanic - Gunner,  18136021

Killed In Action - Mar 23, 1945

670th Bombardment Squadron (L)

 WWII-Medal

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Gunner Wings        Missing Man        Purple Heart



      Born: 26-Jan-1923, Arkansas

Entered Military Service: Date: June 1942 From: White County, Arkansas

Buried: Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands, Plot C Row 15 Grave 16

On-line Memorials:
National World War II Registry     Overseas American Cemeteries
American Battle Monuments Commission Memorial, Certificate
Find-A-Grave
Fields of Honor Database


See also S/Sgt Freeland Madison Tharp Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF)
(FOIA request fulfilled by Government Information Specialist Bryan K. Jolly, Fort Knox, KY)
 Disclaimer: IDPF files document efforts to locate, identify, move, notify relatives and provide final resting for Soldier Dead,
often months or years after death, thus some pages may contain potentially disturbing or distressing information.
If you are sensitive, please consider whether to read this or not.
 Click Here for information on WWII IDPFs.



 Notes:
A/C was Forced down. Lost as a result of Enemy Anti-Aircraft. Aircraft received direct hit over target and was forced down near Huls, Germany.

Description:
Lt Ford's plane was hit by flak on the first run over the target. He broke away from the formation and headed for friendly territory, still carrying his 1,000-pound bombs on single engine, escorted by P-47's. At about 4,000 feet, his other engine stopped. With his bomb bays full of bombs and without any power, he glided his plane to the ground for a crash landing. He was only slightly injured in the landing. His gunner, Staff Sergeant Freeland W. Tharp, bailed out without an order form the pilot over enemy territory and is now MIA.
(416th BG History 1945)

See also MACR 14314 and Mission # 249



Photos and Documents
1930 US Census
1930 US Census
1940 US Census
Marriage License
Portrait
Tuesday, July 13, 1943, Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas), Page 3
Thursday, August 2, 1945, Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), Page 10
Wednesday, May 16, 1945, Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), Page 5
Headstone Inscription and Interment Record
Headstone
Courtesy Ron Wintjens, taken 4-May-2016 during The Faces of Margraten tribute
Rosters Of WW II Dead
WW II Army and Army Air Force Casualty List
National World War II Memorial Registry
National World War II Memorial Registry
American Battle Monuments Commission Certificate


Source information can be viewed at WWII Military Service Fatalities Sources