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Date(s)
- late 20th century (Creation)
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Sub-sub-fonds
Extent and medium
4 files containing 109 papers; 16 banknotes; 1 CD-ROM
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in Marion, Indiana on 24 December 1923. T/Sgt Earl Zimmerman was a radio operator in the 565th Bomb Squadron. He flew on the Ploesti mission, 1 August 1943, with Lt James's crew, flying B-24 no. 42-0774. After the crew had to make a forced landing in a cornfield near Ismir, Turkey, Zimmerman was taken as an internee. In December 1943, he escaped with other internees and returned to England. He transferred to RAF Leuchars, Scotland, for Operation Ball (night flying black Liberators over Norway to supply the underground) before returning to his airbase at Hethel, Norfolk. On 24 March 1945, Zimmerman married an English woman, June Mary Courteney of Spynke Road, at Norwich Cathedral. Earl Zimmerman died on 20 June 2012 at Indianapolis, Indiana.
On 14 January 1945, the B-24 'Lassie Come Home', piloted by Lt Diehl, crashed into June's house on Spynke Road, Mile Cross, Norwich, due to battle damage. The aircraft landed in a nearby garden, killing most of the crew and two local children.
Repository
Archival history
Records donated to the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library by Earl Zimmerman.
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Scope and content
This section contains papers relating to Earl Zimmerman's service history, including his internment in Turkey.
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Publication note
For further biographical information on Earl Zimmerman, see the Library of Congress, American Folklife Centre, Veterans' History Project:
http://www.loc.gov/vets/
For further information about the Spynke Road crash, see <458bg.com>.
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Status
Catalogued