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First Name: Wilma

Last Name: Caldwell

Birthplace: USA

Gender: Male

Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces (1941 - 1947)



Home of Record: Milam County, TX
Middle Name: T.



Date of Birth:

Date of Death: 22 August 1943

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Years Served:
Wilma T. Caldwell, Jr.

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

Wilma T. Caldwell, Jr.
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

On 22 August 1943, Second Lieutenant Wilma T. Caldwell, Jr. was serving with the 554th Bombardment Squadron, 386th Bombardment Group (Medium), Eighth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations.

On that day, 2LT Caldwell's 554th Bombardment Squadron was piloting a B-26 bomber participating in a bombing mission against enemy ground targets at Beaumont le Roger, France. Shortly after the completion of the bombing run, the airplane piloted by 2LT Caldwell was attacked by an enemy fighter. This resulted in an engine being damaged and a fire, which involved the fuel tanks, was started in the bomb bay. His aircraft was crippled and almost unmanageable. Despite the intense heat from the rapidly increasing fire, and the radio warnings from other pilots in his formation, 2LT Caldwell chose to remain at the controls of his ship in order to give his crew an opportunity to escape. After the fourth man had parachuted to safety, the plane exploded in midair. The courageous action of 2LT Caldwell in sacrificing his life to save his crew, earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Forces Pilot Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation (Synopsis)

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Wilma T. Caldwell, Jr. (0-521569), Second Lieutenant (Air Corps), U.S. Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-26 Medium Bomber in the 554th Bombardment Squadron, 386th Bombardment Group (M), EIGHTH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 22 August 1943, against enemy ground targets at Beaumont le Roger, France. Shortly after the completion of the bombing run, the airplane piloted by Lieutenant Caldwell was attacked by an enemy fighter, which resulted in an engine being damaged and a fire, which involved the fuel tanks being started in the bomb bay. Faced with the imminent destruction of his crippled and almost unmanageable plane, subjected to the intense heat of the growing fire, and in spite of radio warnings from other pilots in his formation, Lieutenant Caldwell chose to remain at the controls of his ship, keeping it in a controlled glide in order to give his crew an opportunity to escape. After the fourth man had parachuted to safety, the plane exploded in midair. The gallantry displayed by Lieutenant Caldwell in sacrificing his life for his comrades is in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Army and reflects reflect great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

Headquarters: European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army, General Orders No. 13 (1944)

Burial

Second Lieutenant Wilma T. Caldwell, Jr. is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France, in Plot B, Row 4, Grave 23.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56552122



Honoree ID: 188658   Created by: MHOH

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