Who is this person?

[L Verge]

(06-16-2018 05:44 PM)L Verge Wrote:  

(06-16-2018 03:16 PM)Steve Wrote:  The first American general killed in the war in Europe was Alabama native Brigadier General Asa North Duncan, who went down in an airplane on a bombing run in the Bay of Biscay, near France on 17 November 1942. Your comment about Germany makes me think you're talking about somebody else, though.

I am looking for another name - with ties to the Civil War. I believe the distinction is the phrase "killed in action." In double-checking, I found that going down in a plane crash evidently does not constitute being killed in action. The following is taken from a WWII website:

"Nearly 1,100 U.S. Army generals served at some point during World War II, and of those about 40 died during or immediately following the war. Not all were in combat units, and some were not in enemy territory when they died.

Of these generals, at least 11 were killed in action or died of wounds from hostile actions, two were executed by the Japanese while POWs, four were killed in plane crashes, one was killed by friendly fire, and five died of natural causes, including two of heart attacks. The remainder died of various causes in the first few months after the end of hostilities."

So back to guessing who the descendant of a Civil War general was who was killed in action in Germany...

I quit; end of guessing! I did some more research and discovered that this general I was looking for - Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest III, great-grandson of the Confederate cavalry great - also died in a plane crash, just like Steve's Gen Asa Duncan. I guess it is all a case of military semantics, but here are the details:

Promoted to brigadier general in 1942, Forrest was serving as chief of staff of the Second Air Force when he flew missions as an observer with the Eighth Air Force in England. He was reported missing in action when the B-17 Flying Fortress he was in, leading a bombing raid on the German submarine yards at Kiel, went down on June 13, 1943. The other members of the squadron reported seeing parachutes, and hoped that the general had survived. However, Forrest was found dead on September 23, 1943, when his body washed up near a seaplane base at Ruegen Island in Germany. He was buried on September 28, 1943, in a small cemetery near Wiek, Rügen.

His family was presented his Distinguished Flying Cross, which he was awarded posthumously for staying at the controls of his B-17 bomber while his crew bailed out. The plane exploded before Forrest could bail out. By the time the Seenotdienst (the German air-sea rescue) arrived, only one of the crew was still alive in the water.

Legacy
In 1947, two years after the war ended, his widow requested that he be returned to the United States and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was exhumed and reburied in Section 11 at Arlington on November 15, 1949. He was the last of the direct male line to bear the name "Forrest."

A bit of irony here: Gen. Forrest was killed on June 13, 1943, my father's 28th birthday. This article also mentions the German air-sea rescue. My father, luckily, spent the war stateside heading an air-sea rescue unit that worked with Air Corps pilot training. His chief mission was to retrieve the Norden bombsight, and he kept his top-secret clearance status until his death in 1979. Remind me sometime to tell you why he never ate crabs after that assignment... Korea turned him against rice.

Another piece of irony: Genl. Forrest's plane went down on a bombing run over Kiel, Germany. That is the hometown of our own Eva Elizabeth of this forum. I hope she is able to read this while studying for veterinary exams in Austria.

And finally, if you really want to know more about what was supposed to be America's secret weapon, the Norden bombsight, go here: http://www.historynet.com/not-so-secret-...bsight.htm Another piece of irony? This article (which I actually stumbled upon) was written by Glen Sweeting, husband of a Surratt Museum volunteer (see end of article for credits).