83rd Infantry Division Documents

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First Lieutenant John B Goettke

Name	John B Goettke
Rank	First Lieutenant
Army Serial #	O-513639
State	Ohio
Date of death	1944-08-10
Plot, Row, Grave	L, 8, 10
Cemetery	Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France, Google Maps
Role	Pilot
Unit	908th Field Artillery Battalion, 83rd Infantry Division
Awards
Remarks	1st Lt John Goettke was listed on the 908th roster as being a Pilot in the Battalion HQ. Battle hardened by the bloody Normandy campaign of July 1944, the 908th met its greatest test at La Marchandais, a small farm in Brittany about 10 km south of the seaport cities of St. Malo and Dinard. There, on August 10, 1944, as the 908th fired its 105mm guns directly into the St. Malo fortifications, the battalion was subjected to fierce German counter-battery fire. According to the 908th history, early in the morning of the 10th, the Piper Cub that was carrying forward observers 1st Lt. Philip J. Reichert and 1st Lt. John B. Goettke exploded in mid-air, apparently struck by a shell. Both were killed instantly. (They were awarded the Air Medal posthumously.) 1st Lt. Manny Goodridge recalls seeing the plane being hit. The wing broke in the middle and both wing tips folded forward. More information can be found here.

Grave	Soldier

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