Alex J Dominski
Military ROLL OF HONOURCrash-landed 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-30733. Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt Alex Dominski got out of the crash-landed plane and was hidden by French citizens in the area of Chef-Boutonne. He was joined later by 3 other evaders of his crew - Radio Operator Richard Frievalt, Waist Gunner Hugh Halsell and Tail Gunner Michael Cahill in Endourchapt, near Saint-Laurent-de-Céris. All four were taken in charge by French members of the local Bir-Hacheim Maquis who led them to an isolated barn at a place called "Lafort", near the village of Négret, about 4km Southwest of Saint-Laurent-de-Céris. They and almost 40 Frenchmen (members of the underground, others avoiding forced labor, etc.,) stayed hidden there for a few days. On 22 March 1944, German troops who were looking for Maquisards surrounded the area and, with the help of French policemen, attacked the barn. All the men ran to the nearby woods and one young Frenchmen and Alex Dominski were shot from behind as they were fleeing. All the others, including Frievalt, Halsell and Cahill were arrested. In MACR 1958, Richard Frievalt states he had seen Dominski's body afterwards and noticed that Alex had been hit in the leg, hip and behind the ear, evidently shot that last time as he lay wounded on the ground. The bodies were taken to Poitiers and buried in the Pierre Levée cemetery there. The three American airmen were sent to camps in Germany and survived the war. The 34 Frenchmen were sent to the Briard prison in Poitiers where the Germans executed them there on 8 May 1944. Alex Dominski's name is carved on the monument in Endourchapt to all those who were murdered by the Germans, the 2 on 22 March 1944, and the 34 others who had been arrested that day and were shot in the Briard prison in Poitiers on 8 May 1944 (see http://resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com/2014/04/22-mars-1944-les-monume…) After the war, Alex Dominski's remains were brought to the Rhône American Cemetery.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 31 December 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Enlisted |
27 September 1940 | Wausau, Wisconsin | |
Other left the crashed B-17 |
31 December 1943 | at La Bataille, 3km Southwest of Chef-Boutonne in the Deux-Sèvres Department, France, together with the other crew members | |
Other evaded capture |
31 December 1943 - 22 March 1944 | with the help of French citizens and members of the Maquis of Endourchapt, France | |
Other murdered by German soldiers |
22 March 1944 | trying to escape from the barn near Négret where he and others were hiding | |
Born |
Three Lakes, Wisconsin | ||
Three Lakes, Oneida County, Wisconsin | |||
Buried |
in the Pierre Levée cemetery in Poitiers | ||
Buried |
Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial | Alex Dominski rests at Plot C, Row 12, Grave 6. |
Revisions
MACR 1958
NARA WWII Enlistment records
ABMC website
http://resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com/2014/12/quatre-avaiteurs-americ…
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1958 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database