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| Sgt. Richard Sandberg was a B-17 radio operator in the 95th Bombardment Group. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56303476 http://95thbg.org/ |
Richard was born May 13, 1919 in Mountain, Wisconsin. His parents Gustof and Maren were both born in Sweden and immigrated to the US in 1910. His father was a farmer. Richard was the youngest of eleven children, he had three older sisters and seven older brothers. His mother passed away in 1930 and his father in 1939. In 1940, Richard had completed high school and was living in Chicago and working as a receiving clerk.
He was inducted into the US Army Air Forces in April 1942 and was assigned to the 335th Bomb Squadron of the 95th Bombardment Group as a radio operator. The 95th BG was equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers and arrived in England in May 1943 to take part in the strategic bombing campaign of occupied Europe. It was initially based in Framlingham and transferred to Horham in June 1943. The 95th BG flew its first combat mission on 13 May 1943 against an airfield near Saint-Omer, France. For the next two months the 95th focused on attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb launch sites in France.
On 26 July 1943 TSgt. Sandberg was flying aboard B-17F 42-3264, one of 92 B-17s assigned to bomb industrial targets in Hanover, Germany. On the run to the target, the group was attacked by close to 100 enemy fighters. TSgt. Sandberg’s aircraft was hit by enemy antiaircraft fire, which knocked out two engines, and crashed near Bremen, west of River Elbe. All 10 crewmembers aboard 42-3264 were killed in action.
Richard Reinhold Sandberg is memorialized in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands.
Thank you TSgt. Sandberg for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Richard.
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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 B-24 flight engineer Gordon Kinney. You can read about Gordon 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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Thank you. Richard Sandberg was they youngest brother of my paternal grandmother. Several members of the family carry the name Richard in honor of his sacrifice. He had a nephew who was MIA off Newfoundland on July 3rd, 1941 who was a USN 3rd Class radioman.
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