Anthony P. Calabrese

Second Lieutenant • U.S. Army Air Forces • Serial O-776953

730th Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomber Group (Heavy)

Entered service from New Jersey • Died October 26, 1944

Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, Plot F O 1780, Beverly, New Jersey

Awards: Purple Heart

Second Lieutenant Anthony P. Calabrese was born January 22, 1921, to Mr. and Mrs. Philip Calabrese, of 21 Cedar Avenue in the Blenheim section of Gloucester Township NJ. A graduate of Haddon Heights (NJ) High School, he worked as a barber in Blackwood prior to entering the service. He was assigned to the 730th Bomber Squadron (Heavy), based at Deopham Green, UK, flying B-17G heavy bombers with the 452nd Bomber Group.

He was killed on October 26, 1944, in a mid-air collision of two B-17G bombers. While the Group was assembling for a mission, plane #43-37906 and plane #43-38696 collided at 1117 hours at 15,000 feet, approximately four miles west of the base at Deopham Green. The collision was triggered when one plane hit prop wash, wobbled, lost altitude and settled down on the second. Both planes went down instantly, with no survivors. Sixteen men lost their lives in the collision.