Individual Details
Sgt. Ray Edward PRATER
(14 Apr 1923 - 31 Dec 1943)
Events
| Birth | 14 Apr 1923 | Bakersfield, Kern Co., CA |  | ||
| Census | 1930 | Edinburg, Buckhart Twp., Christian Co., IL | | ||
| Census | 1940 | Edinburg, Buckhart Twp., Christian Co., IL | | ||
| Military | 9 Sep 1942 | enlisted, U.S. Army Air Corps - Peoria, Peoria Co., IL | |||
| Military | 1943 | Sgt., 511th Bomber Squadron 351st, 8th Air Force - WWII | | ||
| Death | 31 Dec 1943 | KIA in B-17 - Bellevue en Kerbors, Côtés d'Armor, FRA, WWII | | ||
| Burial | St. James American Cemetery, Lannion, Bretagne, FRA | ||||
| Burial | Edinburg Cemetery, Edinburg, Christian Co., IL | |  |
Families
| Father | Harry Ottis PRATER (1895 - 1960) |
| Mother | Hazel May BULPITT (1895 - 1944) |
| Sibling | Ruth Evelyn PRATER (1917 - 2006) |
| Sibling | Ruby Estella PRATER (1919 - 2013) |
| Sibling | Marjorie Jean PRATER (1926 - 2003) |
| Sibling | Thomas Eugene "Tom" PRATER (1928 - 1981) |
| Sibling | son PRATER ( - 1944) |
Notes
Birth
From: California Birth Index, 1905-1995 (Ancestry.com); gravestone sows just 1923.Census
Age 6Census
Age 18, living with parents.Military
Sgt Ray E. Prater, mechanic and top gunner of the B-17 42-31179 "Stinky Weather (Pooper Dooper)", took off from station 110 in Polebrook, Northamptonshire, UK, southwest of Peterborough, at 0830 on December 31st, 1943, on a bombing mission to Bordeaux and Cognac. They were intercepted at 1315 between Pleubian and Kerbors by German fighters. Hit, the plane was partially evacuated before crashing by the bay. Of the six that survived, only 2nd Lt Schwayder made it back to England. Prater was initially buried in Lannion.Death
Gravestone sows just 1943.Burial
This is a cenotaph.Endnotes
1. From: Find-A-Grave -- https://www.findagrave.com, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=117793207.