Robert G. Givens
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Robert G. Givens of Leonidas, Minnesota, enlisted in the Army Air Corps on October 30, 1942 at Fort Snelling, Minn.
He served as a Staff Sergeant, airplane and engine mechanic and top turret gunner in B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with the 93rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force based in England.
He was a member of the air offensive over Germany, France, Belgium in the European Theater.
He was shot down April, 1944. During a forced parachute jump he received a back injury when he fell 12,000 feet before his chute opened. He fell into the North Sea and was picked up by a British Air-Sea Rescue Service patrol boat.
Mr. Givens was awarded the Air Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal, American CampaignMedal and World War II Victory Medal.
He was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force (USAF) on August 31, 1948 at Kearny, AFB, Nebr.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 90.
