2nd Lieutenant Rito Arellano

Birth: November 24, 1920

Death: April 20, 1944

Rito Fuentes Arellano was born on November 24, 1920, in Bisbee, Arizona to Pablo and Mariana Arellano. His family moved to Santa Rita where his father worked in the local copper mine. Rito went to elementary school at the Sully School in Santa Rita, High School at Hurley High School at Hurley, New Mexico, and started College at Texas College of Mines in El Paso, Texas.[i] Just prior to World War II, Rito had been accepted to the University of New Mexico and was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rito was one of the first people in his family to attend college and was studying to become a doctor.[ii] Once drafter, he received an exemption until he finished his degree, but chose instead to join the war effort. He attended training camps in Santa Ana, Army Air Base in Victorville California, as well as additional camps in Salt Lake City, Sioux City, and Kearney Nebraska.[iii] arriving in England in 1944 where he served in the 613th Bomb Squadron, 401st Bomb Group, Heavy, 613th Bomber Squadron.[iv] Rito was a 2nd Lieutenant and served as a bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress. 

On April 20, 1944, Rito went on his last mission, serving as a bombardier on the B-17G #42-31593 “Carrie B” to strike German V-1 rocket sites near Pas de Calais, France. The flying fortress’s number three engine was hit by enemy flak and 3-4 minutes later, the plane rose vertically before plunging 12,000 feet and exploding.[v]

The wreckage crashed near their intended target area, 5 miles southeast of Abbeville, France. Only two of the eight-man crew survived. They were captured and held as POWs. The rest of the crew, including Rito Arellano, was killed in the air or during the crash.[vi]

Rito’s body was never recovered from the destruction of the flying fortress. He was posthumously awarded the Air Medal, Purple Heart, World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.[vii] There is a memorial grave for Rito in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France. His family maintains that if it were possible, he and his family would have preferred to have him buried in Fort Bayard, New Mexico.

Images & Documents

Notes:

Compiled by Javier Marrufo

Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Legacy Memorial, Find Your Veteran

https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov 

[i] New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Subsubseries: WWII Service Records (Biographical Questionnaires for New Mexicans Serving in the Armed Forces); Box Number: 13619; Box Title: Service Records Aa-Ad to Chi-Clo

[ii] Marrufo, Javier, and Jesus Arellano. Rito Arellano Interview. Other, n.d. 

[iii] New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Subsubseries: WWII Service Records (Biographical Questionnaires for New Mexicans Serving in the Armed Forces); Box Number: 13619; Box Title: Service Records Aa-Ad to Chi-Clo

[iv] “Rito Fuentes Arellano.” Rito Fuentes Arellano : Second Lieutenant from New Mexico, World War II Casualty. Accessed September 20, 2023. https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=88636. 

[v] Suedois50. “Arellano Rito F – 613 BS 401 BGH.” ARELLANO Rito F – 613 BS 401 BGH. Accessed September 20, 2023. https://www.database-memoire.eu/prive/fr/normandy-tous-soldats/13-colleville-a-fr/2034-arellano-rito-f-613-bs-401-bgh. 

[vi] “B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress – the Queen of the Skies – Home.” B17 Bomber Flying Fortress The Queen Of The Skies The Boeing B17 Flying Fortress bomber in WW2 With database about the fate of each single aircraft, April 20, 1944. https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-31593-carrie-b/. 

[vii] Suedois50. “Arellano Rito F – 613 BS 401 BGH.” ARELLANO Rito F – 613 BS 401 BGH. Accessed September 20, 2023. https://www.database-memoire.eu/prive/fr/normandy-tous-soldats/13-colleville-a-fr/2034-arellano-rito-f-613-bs-401-bgh.