Robert Arthur Beltz

Technical Segeant Beltz enlisted Aug. 8, 1942. He was assigned to the 733rd Bomb Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in Europe. Beltz was the radio operator on the B-24 Liberator s/n 42-51149, nicknamed "Blood and Guts." The B-24 received its rather gory nickname after it suffered a bird strike while on a test flight. On Feb. 17, 1945, Blood And Guts took off for a bombing mission over Magdeburg, Germany. During the flight, the mission was recalled and the B-24 attempted to return to base. While on its way back, Blood And Guts suffered severe icing, and the pilot, First Lieutenant Lawrence Duncan, was forced to ditch the plane in the North Sea. Along with Beltz, five other crewmembers were killed, including two identical twins, Joe and Jack Hensley. Sergeant Beltz's remains were never recovered, and he is memorialized at the Missing Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in England, as well as a cenotaph at Saint Joseph Memorial Cemetery in Wausau.