Military Life
Background Information
Name: Francis Norman Bickel
Born: September 16th,1920
Died: June 8th, 1944 (MIA-Missing In Action)
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
Hometown: Philadelphia County PA
(To the left is a picture of the Bainbridge Naval Training Center, and "boot camp" for those like Bickel living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.)
Military Life
Enlistment date: September 23, 1942. (21 years old). Enlisted in Ardsley, Ohio as a seaman.
Place of internment: Philadelphia
Rank at time of death: Water tender, petty officer third class (WT3c)
Rank on Windsor: Fireman 2nd class (F2c)
Site of basic training: Naval training station Bainbridge, Maryland at Fort Deposit
Responsibilities with rank: Operated and maintained a steam-powered ship’s fireroom and boilers. Managed steam pressure, monitored water levels, and ensured the engines had the power required for combat.
Division or unit history- USS Windsor, USS Meredith (DD-726).
Awards: World War II Victory Medal, Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, American Campaign Medal, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign, Navy Expeditionary Medal.
(To the right is a photo of the USS Windsor.)
Key Battles
USS Windsor: Windsor-class attack transport laid down on July 23, 1942, and launched on December 28, the same year. The ship was scrapped in 1972 in Taiwan. For the services brought to the country during World War II, the USS Windsor received 5 battle stars.
USS Meredith: Launched on December 21, 1943, Cmdr. George Knuepfer was in command. Sailors spent 2 weeks familiarizing themselves with the war ship. Drills included; degaussing calibration, radio direction finder calibration, radar calibration and magnetic compass calibration.
USS Meredith June 8th 1944: Meredith struck a submerged mine, water began to pour in trapping many soldiers onboard. The blast destroyed fire room No.1, engine room No.1, and engine room No. 2; many soldiers were in those rooms and died on impact. Many were able to be evacuated by MMC Bryan B. Lawson safely. Enemy planes dropped bombs about 800 yards away from the sinking Meredith. Meredith began to break in half by 10:10am on June 9th, 1944 and fully submerged under water moments later.
(To the left is a photo of the Meredith III (DD-726).)