E. D. Wagner Listed Dead After Raid
First Lt. Erwalt Douglas Wagner, reported missing in action since Aug. 17, 1943, was listed Thursday as killed in a message to his wife, 403 Fowler street.
On his 17th raid, he was participating in bombing Schweinfurt, Germany, and was in [the] target area when last seen, it was reported. He had dropped his bombs and banked his plane when anti-aircraft fire hit the right stabilizer of his plane leaving him in semi-control of the ship.
Members of the crew were seen parachuting to the ground, but the number was uncertain.
Last October, official word declared six of the crew killed, and five other members, including Lieutenant Wagner, as missing.
The air medal and two oak leaf clusters were awarded last December to Lieutenant Wagner’s wife in a formal review by Col. R. C. McLaughlin at the air base near Wilmington, Del.
Lieutenant Wagner enlisted Dec. 13, 1940, and received his training at the aviation mechanics school at Chanute field, Ill. He received his pilot’s wings and his commission Oct. 30, 1942, at Roswell, N. M.
Born Aug. 13, 1918, in Waterloo, the son of William and Jessie Burd Wagner, he graduated from West high school in 1936. On Dec. 31, 1942, he married Bettie Gilliland.
He was employed by the Wonder Baking Co. here until his enlistment and was a member of the Church of the Brethren.
Besides his widow and parents, he is survived by four brothers, Gordon and Paul, Sherwood Park, Arland, Cedar Rapids, Ia., and Gerold, in the navy at San Francisco, Cal., and his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burd, 902 West Fifth street.
Memorial services will be held at 3 p. m. Sunday at the Church of the Brethren with Rev. Charles Dumond and Rev. Orval Walker officiating.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Friday, September 15, 1944, Page 8 (photo included)
Poppies on Sale Saturday for Vets’ Aid
A preview of Saturday’s American Legion poppy sale was held here Friday to honor three fallen heroes of World War II. Claire D. Elliott, 242 Baltimore street, left above, bought his poppy to honor his son, Staff Sgt. Don Elliott, a radio operator aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber, killed over Palau Island last Aug. 28. Mrs. E. D. Wagner, 403 Fowler street, center above, will sell poppies Saturday to honor her husband, Lt. Douglas Wagner, a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, missing over Germany since Aug. 17, 1943. R. J. Lichty, 316 Prospect boulevard, right above, pins his poppy on to honor his son, Lt. John W. Lichty, a B-26 bomber pilot, missing since Jan. 29, 1943, when he was shot down over Tunisia.
A quota of 14,000 poppies will be available for sale here to make life more enjoyable for the disabled veterans, but they are actually made by veterans at U. S. hospitals. At the Des Moines Veterans hospital, for example, four Waterloo men are engaged in this work, a form of occupational therapy in itself.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Friday, May 25, 1945, Page 6
City in Brief
Mrs. Douglas Wagner, 403 Fowler street, left Monday for Los Angeles, Cal., to make her future home.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Tuesday, August 14, 1945, Page 3
Lt. Wagner is buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, MO. He was a crew member of B-17F Flying Fortress “Peter Wabbit” with the 525th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomber Group.
Source: ancestry.com
