Trying to research a USAAF airmen - crashed over New Guinea

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marmi01
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 12:40 am

Trying to research a USAAF airmen - crashed over New Guinea

Post by marmi01 »

G'Day from Australia!

I just joined here as I'm currently doing some family history research and am hoping to get some assistance as researching US servicemen is completely foreign to me and I really have no idea what the best places to get info are.

During World War 2, my dad had a cousin who was in his early 20s and served in the USAAF. The thing is that my dad (85 this year) can't remember his last name (only his first names - Sonny Alexander) which makes it more difficult to research him. His mother (my grandmother's older sister) came from Russia (escaped from Siberia and ended up in New York (via China).

His cousin, was a gunner on a USAAF Liberator bomber that was flying out of North Queensland (Northern Australia - Cairns or Townsville) on missions against the Japanese over New Guinea in 1942 and his plane crashed (not sure if it was shot down or had engine failure) somewhere either over the ocean or in the jungle of New Guinea - all I ever was told was that he took off on a mission and never came back.

What I'm trying to find out is his cousin's service record, details of his plane/squadron and maybe even details of his last mission.

I'm hoping someone here may be able to point me in the right direction. I've done some google search and have found on USAAF database but have had no luck searching for him there.

Regards,

Mick

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