Raymond John Prozinski
MilitaryUploaded
Raymond J. Prozinski, B-17 Tail Gunner, United States Army Air Forces, Eighth Air Force, 486th Bomb Group, 833rd Bomb Squadron, Sudbury, England, 14 Missions (With the Burton D. "Burt" Ward crew): First Mission March 3, 1945, Last Mission April 21, 1945. WWII Veteran, European Theater of Operations, Purple Heart and also Air Force Reserves, Commission 1950, Flew AT-6, T-28, and F-80 (the first operational fighter). Base Exchange Officer, Kimpo AFB, Seoul, Korea 1952. 14 year Air Force career.
Ray was a founder and long time member of the 8th AFHS-MN.
See his 8th AFHS-MN webpage at
https://sites.google.com/site/8thafhsmn/pictures/ray-prozinski-b-17-tai…
Born: January 19, 1926.
Grew up: Minneapolis
Schools: Hamilton Grade School and Patrick Henry High School
Age at Pearl Harbor: 15
Enlisted in Army Air Corps: Sept. 1943
Induction: Ft. Snelling, Mn.
Basic Training: Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Mo.
Aerial Gunner training: Kingman Az.
Crew Assignment: Lincoln, Nebraska
B-17 Combat Crew Training: Alexandria, Louisiana
On leave
Traveled to Sudbury, England (Flew with the Burt Ward crew)
1st Mission: March 3, 1945
Missions: Dortmund, Neinhagen, Oranienberg, Zwikow, Marx, Mulheim, Hamburg, Berlin, Keil, Newburg, Ingalstadt, Royan, Dresden
Purple Heart from the Dresden mission was later awarded in 1994.
Dischraged: Feb. 1946 Camp Atterbury, Indiana
ROTC Air Force Reserves
Commission: 1950
Flew AT-6, T-28, F-80
Base Exchange Officer, Korea 1952
14 years in Reserves ended 1957
Online Article
To read an account of his time in service (with photos), see Don Ward’s book, The Greatest Generation of Silver Wings (2004) pp. 111-113. ISBN 0-9654964-0-8. The Memorial Press.
(See also Harley R. Stroven's narrated 8 mm color movie about the 486th in 1944-45 and
the 2011 video interview of Bob Mallory, Tail Gunner, 486th BG)
Kevin Callahan, 8th AFHS-MN Archivist has the raw VHS tapes and an edited DVD of Ray's B-17 Aircrew Reunions when he was much younger for anyone who is interested.
Ray was featured in a March 2013 Bloomington Sun Newspaper article.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Acton