George C. Wright Jr

Hello,
 Looking for information on Sgt George C. Wright Jr., 343 BS, waist gunner on 42-100259. This aircraft went down on 24 Jun 44 and Sgt Wright is said to have died of injuries in a Bulgarian hospital on 4 Jul 44
The ABMC lists him as MIA/FOD.
Does anyone have additional information on Sgt Wright or where the aircraft went down.
Thanks,
George
 

Attached is a crew picture with Wright.  There may be some doubt if Wright was the one that was in the Hospital.  It may have been another crewperson; Cpl. Garvin. 
The Certificate of Death for Cpl. Julian Garvin was executed at the Second Reginal Division Hospital, Plovidiv, Bulgaria for July 6th and not at the crash sight. Which would lead one to believe it was Garvin and not Wright that died in the hospital
 
There were Three fill-in persons on this mission.   (Cpl. Julian Garvin / Prvt. Nick Azzollini / Sgt. James Dolan)   MACR 6437
 

Group Photo Taken at Gowen Field, Boise Idaho

                                        Top Row, Left to Right
Edward Sokey, William Emhardt, Wilson Stallings, Frank Onco
                                     Bottom Row, Left to Right
**Wolfe, **McClaw, Marion Little, Samuel Carter, George Wright, Joseph Smith
                                       (** not on June 24th mission)
 
Pictured below: Crew
single photos:on left Dolan  on right Garvin

I have been comunicating with one a son of Azzollini, one of two Americans that were in the hospitsl where Garvin and/or Wright was brought to in Plovidiv.  He has done a lot of research into this.  What I am reporting is from his findings.
 
Azzollini was a fill-in on their crew that morning and never saw any of crew before this mission. It was also Azzollini's first mission.  The other American in the hospital -Hollowell, a bombardier from another crew in the 485th BG mentions Wright by name in his report on his MACR.  But again neither person had ever laid eyes on him before.
 

Information on the death of Corporal Garvin

In an IDPF Statement dated April 28, 1946, Cpl. Garvin is noted as the only positively identified

member of the crew. In the same IDPF, there is a dental chart (obviously used to compare

The Army appears to have made positive ID sometime in October 1948. When referring to the

establishment of the positive ID for Cpl. Garvin, a note is made that the status of Sgt. Wright is

not changed (being unrecovered), and that a “case now being processed to establish group

identity.”  The Army classifies the death status as DOW (death of wounds) rather than KIA (killed in action).

Army reveals that a “detailed and explicit” Certificate of Death for Cpl. Garvin was executed at the Second Reginal 

Division Hospital, Plovidiv, Bulgaria and that he died at 12 o’clock on 6 July 1944. The Garvin IDPF also contains a

translated copy of the Death Certificate No 44 from the Register of the Civil Status of the 2nd

Reginal Divisional Hospital giving the cause of death as due to “burned face-2nd grade, bullet

wounds in both thighs and difused peritonitis.” The death certificate was made by Intendant and

Officer of the Civil Status Atanas Mumdjiev and it is signed by Sanitary Warrant Officer

Dr. Turpomanov and witnessed by Sanitary SGT. Maj. Ilia Petrov Iotov. The IDPF relates that

the interment was made in the Civilian Cemetery at Plovdiv. “The remains were thereafter

transferred to the custody of the American Graves Registration Service whereupon a complete

identification examination was made to verify that the deceased was, in fact, Corporal Garvin”.

This seems to leave little doubt that Cpl. Garvin died in captivity in Plovdiv and not at the crash

site in Strelcha.
 
As far as where the plane went down:
From the IDPF’s (Individual Deceased Personnel File), we learn that the actual crash location is near the village of Strelcha, (Strelca)

Bulgaria, -thus the coordinates given in the MACR are 84 miles NE of the actual location.

 

From the Inquiry to the Bulgarian government,  from the Chief of the Air-Warning

Unit of the War Ministry – Headquarters – St. Sofia, “A four engine aircraft crashed

4 km east of Strelcha village, near Plovdiv, in the middle of the triangle Valk, Krastevich village,

and Strelcha village. Some members of the crew burned to death, two people captured.”