Family and Education: Marshall was born 28 May 1920 in Manhattan, New York. He was the son of Alta Lake (1889-1990) of Nebraska and Lt. Col. US Army Harold Allen Herrick (1880-1977) of New York, who served in WWI and WWII. His parents were married in Houston, Texas, in 1916 at the house of Alta's Aunt Retta Borden. His nickname was Mike and he grew up with his sister Joan and his brother Peter at 320 Heathcote Road in Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York and recorded there in 1930[1] and also in 1940.[2] Although his brother was six years younger, Peter enlisted on 20 April 1945 and also served during WWII as Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer. Mike graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1939. Mike registered for the draft on 1 July 1941 in Scarsdale and his physical description was race white with dark complexion, brown eyes, brown hair. He was employed by E. Robinson Inc. in Hartsdale NY. Mike then attended Williston Academy in East Hampton, Massachusetts and the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois.

Military: After completing one year of college, Mike enlisted at Chanute Field in Illinois on 2 March 1942 as an Aviation Cadet in US Army Air Corps / USAAF Aviation Cadet Program.[3] According to that record, Mike's civilian occupation was an actor and his marital status was single, without dependents, service number 16030803 (which indicates he volunteered and was not drafted), height 5’-10” and weight 140 lbs. Marshall reported for duty in the military in March 1942, soon after his enlistment. His training was in Utah, Idaho and Texas. This is indirectly known from the history of the 338th Bombardment Squadron in the 96th Bombardment Group to which he was assigned, originally under the Second Air Force.

Personal Life: Marshall met Edna Ridges in Salt Lake City while his squadron was training there. He stayed in contact with her after the squadron moved to Gowen Field and Pocatello Army Air Base, both in Idaho and not very far away from Salt Lake City, then he continued corresponding with her later while he was at Pyote Army Air Base in Texas. He married Edna Ridges on 9 March 1943 in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Salt Lake City, Utah. This was about a month before he deployed. She was the daughter of Dr. Alfred Joseph Ridges Jr (1874–1971) and Edna Marinda Hyde (1874–1943). Her mother died a month after the wedding. Edna went to live on Long Island, New York, while Mike was gone to war. After his death, Edna moved to Tennessee where she worked on the Manhattan Project. At the end of the war, she returned to Salt Lake City.

Military Career/ Unit History: After his graduation and commissioning as 2LT Bombardier, his serial number changed to O-734311, (O is for officer) and he was assigned to the 338th Bomber Squadron (338th BS), 96th Bombardment Group (H) (96th BG) equipped with Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers. The 338th BS, 96th BG was assigned to the 2nd Air Force (2nd AF) while stateside for training and upon arrival in England was assigned to the US 8th Air Force (8th AF). He was assigned as the bombardier to Boeing Fortress 42-30401 named “Gloria Ann”. Likely, his squadron’s first mission was on 13 May 1943. In mid-channel the lead aircraft had a mechanical malfunction and had to abort. As a result 96BG and 351BG became disorganized and returned to base. The next day, 14 May 1943, the German air depot Courtrai (now Kortrijk) Belgium was the primary target for 39 B-17s dispatched from: 96BG (21) and 351BG (18), thus redeeming themselves from the turn-backs of the previous day and logging their first completed mission. From May through July, Mike and his crew became experienced combat aviators, veterans of numerous missions over Germany and occupied Europe as part of the 338th/96th BG, 8th AF and participated in Operation POINTBLANK the Allied Strategic Bombing Campaign against Germany. A few of the targets that they attacked were Loreint, Flensburg, Marl, Hamburg and Hannover in Germany and Le Mans, France. He was most likely promoted to 1st Lieutenant (1LT) after deploying to the United Kingdom (UK).

Death: July 28, 1943: Oschersleben, Germany. “Many Americans were flying their fourth mission in five days. They had been exhausted before they took off in the morning. Germans bounced out of the clouds on Lt. Steve Hettrick's 338th A/C 42-30401. The first pass reduced Hettrick's airspeed just enough to isolate him for the second pass. The crew bailed out over the North Sea…When the final toll was taken, it was revealed that 7 aircraft failed to return to Snetterton. Listed as MIA were the crews of Lts. Deshotels, Covert, Wilcox, Moore, Hettrick, Nance and Capt. Fulton. Even so, by "lights out" there were seventy empty cots at Snetterton. In fact, the 96th had sustained the highest losses of both the 1st and 4th Bomb Wings. https://www.rumboogiecrew.com/mission18july281943

Missing in Action with pilot: Steve Hettrick, Co-pilot: Jack Adair, Navigator: Calvin Bramlett, Bombardier: Marshall Herrick*, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bill Connell*, Radio Operator: Bill Reeves, Ball turret gunner: Clifford Kinney, Waist gunner: Bronislaus Kubis*, Waist gunner: Chas Mossbey, Tail gunner: Stan Lukowitz (10 KIA - *bodies washed up ashore weeks later); enemy aircraft, crashed North Sea; Missing Air Crew Report 139.” https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/4394

“2nd Lieutenant Marshall Herrick was the Bombardier of B17 42-30401 “Gloria Ann.” On 12 August 1943 he was found washed ashore near Lakolk on Rømø Island of Denmark. On 16 August 1943 he was buried in Kirkeby Churchyard on Rømø. In 1948 he and other American airmen buried in Kirkeby were disinterred and taken to Ardennes American Cemetery in BELGIUM. (Source: FAF and AOD)” https://www.airmen.dk/u045030.htm

Final Burial: Marshall’s final burial and gravestone was in 1948 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia. [4] [5] Later, his parents were laid to rest beside him. Six crewmen were named on the “Tablets of the Missing” at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in England and Lukowitz was named on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Netherlands American Cemetery. The other two bodies which were recovered; Connell’s body was buried in Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium and Kubis’ was buried in Long Island National Cemetery in New York.

Awards: The Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters (D.N. 11-30-43), which indicates four separate awards, plus the Purple Heart Medal, European-Mediterranean-Middle East Campaign Ribbon and the WW II Victory Medal were posthumously awarded.

Sources

1. FamilySearch.org, [](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4GV-CNT)[https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4GV-CNT], 1930 US Census.

2. FamilySearch.org, [](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K314-LC6)[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K314-LC6], 1940 US Census.

3. FamilySearch.org, [](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8GW-9QZ)[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8GW-9QZ], WWII Enlistment.

4. FamilySearch.org, [](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK5-2XB9)[https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVK5-2XB9], Burial Index.

5. Find-a-Grave.com, [](https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK5-2XB9)[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49203006/marshall-herrick], Burial Memorial.

Other sources: Wikipedia.org and numerous other internet web sites containing similar information relevant to Marshal’s experience during World War II.

"This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.”