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First Name: Fletcher

Last Name: Adams

Birthplace: Ida, LA, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces (1941 - 1947)



Middle Name: Eugene



Date of Birth: 02 August 1921

Date of Death: 30 May 1944

Rank:

Years Served:
Fletcher Eugene Adams

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

Fletcher Eugene Adams
Captain, U.S. Army Air Forces

Fletcher Eugene Adams was born on 2 August 1921 in Ida, LA.

Captain Fletcher Eugene Adams, USAAF, was a pilot with the 357th Fighter Group and he was the leading ace in that unit, with nine confirmed kills. He was well on his way to becoming the top fighter ace in the U.S. Eighth Air Force in World War II.

On 30 May 1944, Adams luck ran out when he was shot down near Bernburg, Germany, by an Me-109 fighter. He was flying an early model P-51B, tail number 43-12468, named "Southern Belle." He managed to bail out of his crippled plane and safely reach the ground. Sadly though, Adams was in the wrong place and at precisely the wrong time. That day he became the first victim of a new hardline policy of executing downed American airmen when he landed in a small-town with a police chief fanatical enough to take the order seriously. Adams was captured and murdered by German civilians.

Adams and his unit are the subject of the book "Bleeding Sky" by Joey Maddox. A notable alumnus of the 357th Fighter Group is retired Brigadier General Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the first man to break the speed of sound in level flight.

Death and Burial

Captain Fletcher Eugene Adams was killed by hostile action on 30 May 1944 near Bernburg, Germany. Adams' remains were returned to his hometown in the summer of 1949 and he now rests at Bethsaida Cemetery in Ida, LA, in the family plot with his mother and father.



Honoree ID: 2040   Created by: MHOH

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