4/19/1945
SGT Roland H. Engwall was killed on 19 April 1945. SGT Engwall was assigned to the 46th Ordnance (Bomb Disposal) Squad, Ninth Air Force stationed at the airfield at Kassel/Rothwestern (R-12), Germany. SGT Engwall was killed during disposal operation of an “abundant supply” of 2-kilogram SD-2 (Sprengbombe Dickwändig or Splinter Bomb-2) anti-personnel fragmentation “Butterfly” bomblets at the airfield. Captain Max H. Zimmerman was injured in the detonation. SGT Englwall was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
*This bio was researched and authored by SGM Mike R. Vining, USA (Retired) with supporting research from the books, Nine from Aberdeen, by Jeffrey M. Leatherwood, Ph.D., and Bomb Disposal, The Early Years of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, 1940 to 1949, by LTC Robert E. Leiendecker, USA (Retired), and T. Dennis Reece.