Frederic Walter LEWIS

Frederic Walter LEWIS Update Details

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LEWIS, Frederic Walter

Service Number:	SX17755
Enlisted:	2 March 1942, Adelaide, SA
Last Rank:	Lance Corporal
Last Unit:	2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
Born:	Scott Creek, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 23 July 1907
Home Town:	Aldgate, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Dresser (Sportsman All Rounder)
Died:	Injuries, New Guinea, 8 September 1943, aged 36 years
Cemetery:	Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea CWGC Grave No: Section C. Plot 1. Row F. Grave 3. Inscription: "WITHOUT FAREWELL HE FELL ASLEEP WITH MEMORIES FOR ME TO KEEP".
Memorials:	Adelaide WW2 Wall of Remembrance, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Scott's Creek Honour Roll

World War 2 Service

2 Mar 1942:	Involvement Lance Corporal, SX17755, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
2 Mar 1942:	Enlisted Adelaide, SA
2 Mar 1942:	Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, SX17755, 2nd/33rd Infantry Battalion
Date unknown:	Involvement

Help us honour Frederic Walter Lewis's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Stephen Bonald

On Tuesday, September 7th, 1943, at Jackson Field in Port Moresby, New Guinea, a B-24D Liberator bomber (The Pride of the Cornhuskers) from the 403rd Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bombing Group USAAF, crashed during take-off, likely due to pilot disorientation in the dark. The aircraft hit trees and slammed into a convoy of trucks carrying over 130 soldiers from D Company, 2/33 Infantry Battalion of the Australian Army, who were waiting to board C-47 transport planes to move to the front lines. The bomber’s 500-pound bombs and 2,800 gallons of fuel exploded, killing 15 Australian soldiers instantly and severely injuring 47 more, who later died. Another 90 soldiers were wounded but survived, all 11 crew members aboard the bomber (The Pride of the Cornhuskers) were killed. Lance Frederic Walter Lewis – SX17755, was one of the 47 Australian Military personnel severely burned, succumbing to his injuries on 8th September 1943 at the 2nd / 5nd Australian General Hospital, Port Moresby .

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