Oulehla, Charles H.
Army 2nd lieutenant

Charles H. Oulehla from Cook County Illinois.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Saturday, May 20, 1944
Death details: On May 20, 1944, a B-17 Flying Fortress, serial number 42-97176, with a crew of ten departed Rattlesden, Suffolk, England for a bombing mission against enemy targets around Liege, Belgium. Approximately halfway across the English Channel, the crew noticed the right wing of the B-17 was on fire. The aircraft dropped its bomb load in the Channel and bailed out of the aircraft before it crashed into the water. The air rescue squadron called to the scene found two crew members alive, and the body of a third in the water. Seven crew members were missing and presumed drowned. Second Lt. Charles H. Oulehla, who joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Illinois, served with the 710th Bombardment Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group. He was the bombardier aboard the B-17 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Oulehla is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency