Hutchins, Melvin Lawrence

US volunteers RAF/RCAF

Date of birth:: September 24th, 1922 (Lynn/Massachusetts, United States)
Date of death:: June 13th, 1943 (Rossum, The Netherlands)
Buried on:: Commonwealth War Graves Roman Catholic Cemetery Rossum
Grave: 10.
Service number:: R/144839
Nationality:: American (1776 - present, Republic)

Biography

Melvin was born on September 24 1922 in Lynn Massachusetts, USA, the son of Myron Hutchins and Alma Edith Cormack nee MacLellan (both Americans) of Cambridge, Massachusetts USA. They were married on February 29 1920 in Lynn USA and divorced in 1929 and the address of the father was unknown.
He was a machinist apprentice and member of the Methodist Church and his sports were golf, tennis, baseball, football and softball and his hobby was building airplanes models.

He enlisted on December 11 1942 in Montreal and he went on February 4 1943 thereafter overseas to the UK.

Melvin was killed in action on Sunday June 13 1943 age 20 due to a crash at the Loosteresweg Roelinksveld near Volthe Rossum before or after an attack on Bochum in Germany. The other fallen RAF Volunteer Reserve crew members were F/O Ellis R. Midgley age 32 in grave 8, Sgt Arthur W. Stevens age 21 in grave 12 and Sgt Arnold Roberts age 19 in grave 9. The other fallen RAF crew member was Sgt Samuel Wood age 19 in grave 11. The other fallen RAF Volunteer Reserve crew member F/O Arthur Trott age 21 was transported then to a hospital in Gronau Germany where he died and he was buried then at the Rheichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany in grave 24-A-14. The other RNZAF crew member Sgt C.A. Chambers survived the crash and he became then a prisoner of war.

On his headstone: HE CARRIED THE GRACE OF GOD IN HIS HEART. NOW HE IS SAFE IN HIS ARMS

He and the other fallen crew members are mentioned at an information sign near the crash site.

He served with the 51 (R.A.F.) Sqdn Royal Canadian Air Force.

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