Frederico Gonzales
Military
Shared from the 398th BG website: http://www.398th.org/Images/Images_Crews/Text/Flight/Khouri_603_194409…
Object Number - UPL 24127 - Lt. Frederico Gonzales, Co-Pilot, Lt. Jack E. Kutchback, Bombardier and 1st Lt. Charles E. Khourie of the 603rd Bomb Squadron of the 398th Bomb...
Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Heerdt on 23 Jan 45 in B-17 44-8224.
Gonzales was with the 603rd Sqdn 398th BG and co-pilot to Colonel Frank Hunter on the mission over Neuss 23rd January 1945. Flak took off one wing of the bomber and it went into a violent spin. Gonzales was the sole survivor and was in hospital for many months.
Post war he was Professor of Biophysics at Northwestern University specialising in the study of cells and tissue. He was married to Anna and they had seven sons. In 1988 - on a tour with the 398th Association- he returned to Neuss and met people who still remembered his plane 'falling out of the sky'.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 398th Bomb Group 603rd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Germany | 23 January 1945 | |
|
Born |
San Antonio, Texas, USA |
Revisions
Biography completed by historian Helen Millgate. Information sourced from newsletters of the 398th Bomb Group related to the service of Frederico Gonzales;
MACR 11799 at https://www.fold3.com/image/46706992
Added the words "Possible DUPLICATE" in the nickname field so an admin can check out this person.
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11799 / MACR 11799, mentioned in Hell from Heaven: Memoirs of a WW II B-17 Bombardier by Streifeld with a picture on page 101 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
