Jack F Donahue

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-20947.jpeg UPL 20947 Crew #64
Frank Herzik Crew
458th BG - 755th BS

Standing Left to Right: Harold Howell (CP), Henry Piaseki (B), William Thorp (N), Frank Herzik (P)

Kneeling Left to Right: Harold Craddock (WG), Anthony Konarski (TTG), Roy Downer (BTG), George Kulikowski (TG), Jack Donahue (G), Deral Hartle (R/O)

Object Number - UPL 20947 - Crew #64 Frank Herzik Crew 458th BG - 755th BS Standing Left to Right: Harold Howell (CP), Henry Piaseki (B), William Thorp (N), Frank Herzik...

Presumed lost in the North Sea on a mission to Berlin, GR on 3 Mar 1944 in B-24H #41-29298. Killed in Action (KIA).

Connections

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Units served with

Personnel of the 458th Bomb Group gather around a B-24 Liberator (serial number 41-29303) nicknamed "Liberty Lib" in order to transfer a casualty into a waiting ambulance. Image via Harry Holmes. Written on slide casing: '458th BG.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 755th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-663519
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Ole Satan
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 755th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Buried

No Known Grave Tablet of The Missing Cambridge American Cemetery

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

North Sea 3 March 1944 The Herzik Crew was the first aircraft of the 458th lost on a combat mission. The March 3, 1944 mission to Berlin was recalled due to extremely poor weather conditions. Flying B-24H 41-29298 Ole Satan, this crew simply did not return. Their loss was the group's first combat loss and is recorded in Missing Air Crew Report 3347. Harold McDonald, navigator on Crew 63 (Brudos) related the following: "We were over the middle of the English Channel heading towards the enemy coast when Herzik, maintaining radio silence, signaled that he had trouble and was returning to base. We waved to them as they left formation and continued on. When we returned to base we were shocked that Herzik was not back yet. They must have gone down in the Channel." The entire crew was declared deceased (DED) in 1946. Their names are on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England.

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Date
ContributorAAM
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Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3347 / MACR 3347, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Frces & Page 275 of the book LIBERATORS OVER EUROPE by Mackay, Bailey & Scorza, D790G458 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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