Lt. Ronald W. Reeves killed in crash in Germany (by Erica Smith, Sep 26, 2009)
Reeves of Washington, D.C., graduated from flight training on Aug. 4, 1944, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He soon deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group.
On March 24, 1945, the Fifteenth Air Force launched its longest mission: A 1,600-mile round-trip mission to a tank assembly plant in Berlin. Pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group, led by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., escorted bombers to support the mission, leaving Ramitelli Air Field, Italy, at 11:45 a.m. The fighter pilots who were scheduled to relieve the 332nd Fighter Group at the outskirts of Berlin were late; Davis instructed his pilots to continue toward the target with the bombers. As the fighters and bombers neared the capital, 25 enemy jets attacked. The 332nd Fighter Group fought back, and by the end of the day it had destroyed three enemy planes and would earn a Distinguished Unit Citation.
But during the mission, two pilots disappeared: Reeves and Lt. Robert C. Robinson Jr. Around 2 p.m, a pilot reported trouble. An eye-witness later reported he heard the pilot say, "There's a field. We'll land there." A military report was filed; Reeves and Robinson were listed as missing in action near Udine, Italy, after running out of fuel.
Following standard procedure, Reeves' status was changed from missing in action to killed in action a year later. Reeves was posthumously awarded an Air Medal.
In 1949, remains that had been discovered near Koepnick, Germany, and buried at an American cemetery in Belgium were identified as Reeves. Koepnick is more than 550 miles from Reeves' assumed crash site. His status was changed again: Reeves had been killed in action on March 24, 1945.
On Feb. 17, 1950, Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray wrote to Reeves' mother, Elise Reeves, that her son would be awarded a Purple Heart.
"At the request of the president, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Second Lieutenant Ronald W. Reeves, Air Corps, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country.
"Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in the battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us. When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy."
Reeves is buried Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Reeves of Washington, D.C., graduated from flight training on Aug. 4, 1944, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He soon deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group.
On March 24, 1945, the Fifteenth Air Force launched its longest mission: A 1,600-mile round-trip mission to a tank assembly plant in Berlin. Pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group, led by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., escorted bombers to support the mission, leaving Ramitelli Air Field, Italy, at 11:45 a.m. The fighter pilots who were scheduled to relieve the 332nd Fighter Group at the outskirts of Berlin were late; Davis instructed his pilots to continue toward the target with the bombers. As the fighters and bombers neared the capital, 25 enemy jets attacked. The 332nd Fighter Group fought back, and by the end of the day it had destroyed three enemy planes and would earn a Distinguished Unit Citation.
But during the mission, two pilots disappeared: Reeves and Lt. Robert C. Robinson Jr. Around 2 p.m, a pilot reported trouble. An eye-witness later reported he heard the pilot say, "There's a field. We'll land there." A military report was filed; Reeves and Robinson were listed as missing in action near Udine, Italy, after running out of fuel.
Following standard procedure, Reeves' status was changed from missing in action to killed in action a year later. Reeves was posthumously awarded an Air Medal.
In 1949, remains that had been discovered near Koepnick, Germany, and buried at an American cemetery in Belgium were identified as Reeves. Koepnick is more than 550 miles from Reeves' assumed crash site. His status was changed again: Reeves had been killed in action on March 24, 1945.
On Feb. 17, 1950, Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray wrote to Reeves' mother, Elise Reeves, that her son would be awarded a Purple Heart.
"At the request of the president, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Second Lieutenant Ronald W. Reeves, Air Corps, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country.
"Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in the battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us. When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy."
Reeves is buried Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Lt. Ronald W. Reeves killed in crash in Germany (by Erica Smith, Sep 26, 2009)
Reeves of Washington, D.C., graduated from flight training on Aug. 4, 1944, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He soon deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group.
On March 24, 1945, the Fifteenth Air Force launched its longest mission: A 1,600-mile round-trip mission to a tank assembly plant in Berlin. Pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group, led by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., escorted bombers to support the mission, leaving Ramitelli Air Field, Italy, at 11:45 a.m. The fighter pilots who were scheduled to relieve the 332nd Fighter Group at the outskirts of Berlin were late; Davis instructed his pilots to continue toward the target with the bombers. As the fighters and bombers neared the capital, 25 enemy jets attacked. The 332nd Fighter Group fought back, and by the end of the day it had destroyed three enemy planes and would earn a Distinguished Unit Citation.
But during the mission, two pilots disappeared: Reeves and Lt. Robert C. Robinson Jr. Around 2 p.m, a pilot reported trouble. An eye-witness later reported he heard the pilot say, "There's a field. We'll land there." A military report was filed; Reeves and Robinson were listed as missing in action near Udine, Italy, after running out of fuel.
Following standard procedure, Reeves' status was changed from missing in action to killed in action a year later. Reeves was posthumously awarded an Air Medal.
In 1949, remains that had been discovered near Koepnick, Germany, and buried at an American cemetery in Belgium were identified as Reeves. Koepnick is more than 550 miles from Reeves' assumed crash site. His status was changed again: Reeves had been killed in action on March 24, 1945.
On Feb. 17, 1950, Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray wrote to Reeves' mother, Elise Reeves, that her son would be awarded a Purple Heart.
"At the request of the president, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Second Lieutenant Ronald W. Reeves, Air Corps, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country.
"Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in the battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us. When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy."
Reeves is buried Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Reeves of Washington, D.C., graduated from flight training on Aug. 4, 1944, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He soon deployed to Italy with the 100th Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group.
On March 24, 1945, the Fifteenth Air Force launched its longest mission: A 1,600-mile round-trip mission to a tank assembly plant in Berlin. Pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group, led by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., escorted bombers to support the mission, leaving Ramitelli Air Field, Italy, at 11:45 a.m. The fighter pilots who were scheduled to relieve the 332nd Fighter Group at the outskirts of Berlin were late; Davis instructed his pilots to continue toward the target with the bombers. As the fighters and bombers neared the capital, 25 enemy jets attacked. The 332nd Fighter Group fought back, and by the end of the day it had destroyed three enemy planes and would earn a Distinguished Unit Citation.
But during the mission, two pilots disappeared: Reeves and Lt. Robert C. Robinson Jr. Around 2 p.m, a pilot reported trouble. An eye-witness later reported he heard the pilot say, "There's a field. We'll land there." A military report was filed; Reeves and Robinson were listed as missing in action near Udine, Italy, after running out of fuel.
Following standard procedure, Reeves' status was changed from missing in action to killed in action a year later. Reeves was posthumously awarded an Air Medal.
In 1949, remains that had been discovered near Koepnick, Germany, and buried at an American cemetery in Belgium were identified as Reeves. Koepnick is more than 550 miles from Reeves' assumed crash site. His status was changed again: Reeves had been killed in action on March 24, 1945.
On Feb. 17, 1950, Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray wrote to Reeves' mother, Elise Reeves, that her son would be awarded a Purple Heart.
"At the request of the president, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Second Lieutenant Ronald W. Reeves, Air Corps, who sacrificed his life in defense of his country.
"Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one. We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in the battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us. When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy."
Reeves is buried Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Inscription
Ronald W REEVES
Massachusetts
2D LIEUTENANT
332 AAF FIGHTER GP
WORLD WAR II
DECEMBER 29 1924
MARCH 24 1945
Other Records
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