Walter R Kunkel

Military

Went down on 7 Apr 45 in B-24 44-49533, they were Deputy Lead, the plane suffered major damage after being hit by a German fighter, and crew was unable to bail out. The 2 pilots were cast out of the plane as it began to disintegrate,Prisoner of War (POW)



POW/Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Cluster's

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 389th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Newton, Pennsylvania, USA

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Germany 7 April 1945

Enlisted

Revisions

Date
ContributorBetsy
Changes
Sources

Walter R. Kunkel was the only survivor from his plane's hit and crash. He subsequently escaped from the Germans and was able to get back to the United States in a short amount of time. There, he married and raised a family with 3 children, became an executive with the Boy Scouts of America. He died in June of 1964 from a heart attack.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 13892 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database