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| Samuel Bennett was a bombardier in the 401st Bombardment Group stationed in England. |
Samuel was born on December 20, 1918 in Bald Creek, North Carolina. His parents William and Nell were also born in North Carolina. His father was a physician. He had two older sisters, two older brothers, and two younger sisters. Samuel was a graduate of Mars Hill College and also attended North Carolina State College. At the time of his enlistment, he was employed in Baltimore as a shipfitter.
Samuel enlisted March 28, 1942 in the US Army Air Forces aviation cadet program and attended pre-flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. He was trained as a B-17 Flying Fortress bombardier at Roswell Army Air Field and received his commission as a 2nd Lt. in June 1943.
In March or April 1944 2nd Lt. Bennett was part of a replacement B-17 crew assigned to the 401st Bomb Group, 613th Bomb Squadron of the 8th Air Force, based at Deenethorpe, England. The crew’s first mission was on May 1, 1944 and they completed seven more missions over the next three weeks. On May 28 during the crew’s ninth mission, the aircraft was hit by flak or cannon fire from an enemy aircraft causing a fire in the radio room, and then exploded, tearing the aircraft in half. Five members of the crew were able to bail out and became POWs. 2nd Lt. Bennett and four others were not so lucky and did not survive the explosion. Pieces of the aircraft were strewn across the countryside in the vicinity of Dessau, Germany, the intended target.
Samuel Byrd Bennett was initially buried in Susigke Cemetery in Germany and was later reinterred in Holcombe Cemetery, Burnsville, North Carolina. Both of Samuel’s brothers served in the US Army and survived the war.
Thank you Samuel for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Samuel.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Clarence Armstrong of the 34th Infantry Division. You can read about Clarence here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
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WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
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“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
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