Birth: Mar. 1, 1921, USA
Death: Apr. 4, 1944
Bucharest, Romania

S Sgt Raymond Sunderland was assigned to the Thieme crew for the fatal flight of 04/04/1944 over Bucharest, Romania of the 449th Bomb Group. S/Sgt Raymond Sunderland was assistant engineer and nose gunner on this mission.

The B-24 Liberator was hit by flak and shot at by multiple German ME-109s immediately following the formation having successfully dropped their bombs on the target. The result was a huge fire in the bomb bay section of the plane which was then seen to fall out of formation before crashing. S/Sgt Raymond Sunderland was trapped in the front of the bomber and could not escape.

S/Sgt Raymond Sunderland was temporarily buried together with his 6 crewmates in the Catholic Cemetery at Giurgiu, Romania by the Romanian townspeople. After the war, all Allied airmen were removed from the cemeteries in the little towns across Romania and reburied in an American Military Cemetery at Sinaia, Romania near the Carpathian Mountains before being finally moved to the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. Ardennes was the final resting place of S/Sgt Raymond Sunderland who was buried with full military honors.

See the tribute page to S Sgt Raymond P. Sunderland here:

http://users.skynet.be/2ltmalrait_gilbert/sunderlandstoryE.htm

Burial:
Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial
Neuville-en-Condroz
Liege, Belgium
Plot: Plot B - Row 38 - Grave 52

Philippe Vanderdonckt, Organization