Linn County

S/Sgt. David C. Blodgett

 

 

LOCAL SHORTS
Sgt. David C. Blodgett, who is stationed with the 305th Bombardment Group, Army Air Corps, Ardmore, Okla., as an instructor in aerial engineering, is spending a 10-day furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blodgett, 370 Sixteenth street SE. Sgt. Blodgett enlisted Oct. 27, 1942.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, March 2, 1944

David Blodgett Reported German War Prisoner

Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blodgett, 370 Sixteenth street SE, received a telegram from the War Department Wednesday saying that their son, Sgt. David C. Blodgett, had been reported by the International Red Cross as being a prisoner of war of the German government. No other details were given. He had been reported as missing in action since April 23.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, June 22, 1944

The first word received directly from S/Sgt. David C. Blodgett since he was reported a prisoner of war of Germany came to his parents and friends this week. The communications were dated May 8 and 10, in which he said he was well and receiving good treatment.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, September 7, 1944

According to Sgt. Howard F. Wood, formerly of Grundy Center, Iowa, four Cedar Rapids men are among 78 Iowa men held in a German prison camp, Stalag XVII B, located at Krems, Austria. Sgt. Wood left the camp as an exchange prisoner, returning to the United States on the Gripsholm. The Cedar Rapids men in the camp are David Blodgett, Winston Lowe, Robert Vollbrecht and Thomas McDonald. Sgt. Wood said he left camp on July 26 and that all the Iowa men were well and reasonably happy under the circumstances. They are kept busy with their theater, library, studies and sports. They are receiving Red Cross packages regularly each week.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, October 26, 1944

Sgt. David C. Blodgett, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blodgett, 370 Sixteenth street SE, has been returned to Allied military control, according to a War Department telegram received by his parents Saturday afternoon.

Sgt. Blodgett, top turret gunner and engineer, was shot down over Hamm, Germany, April 22, 1944. He was subsequently interned as a prisoner of war of the German government at Krems, Austria. He enlisted in the U.S. air forces, Oct. 27, 1942.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, May 24, 1945

NEWS OF SERVICEMEN and WOMEN
Staff Sgt. David C. Blodgett, who was a prisoner of war of the German government at Krems, Austria, for 13 months, arrived in Cedar Rapids last Friday afternoon to spend a 60-90 day convalescent furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Blodgett, 370 Sixteenth street SE.

Sgt. Blodgett, a top turret gunner and engineer on a B-17, was shot down over Hamm, Germany, April 22, 1944, and was liberated by American forces May 2, 1945. He was attached to the 94th bomb group of the Eighth air force, wears the Air Medal with two clusters and the Purple Heart. At the end of his furlough, he will report to a military hospital at Miami, Fla., for a 21-day check up and reassignment.

Source: Cedar Rapids Tribune, June 21, 1945

David Claire Blodgett died Apr. 12, 1979 in CA.

Source: ancestry.com