Jerome Chester Nawracaj
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Family photo
Object Number - UPL 42555 - SSgt Jerome Chester Nawracaj
Staff Sergeant Jerome C. Nawracaj was born September 27, 1920. He was the son of Stanley and Sophie Nawracaj. He was from Manville, New Jersey.
On October 20, 1943, he was serving as the Left Waist Gunner aboard “Shack Rabbit III,” B-17 42-30372, of the 96th Bomb Group, 339th Bomb Squadron, when it went down over Hensies, Belgium. MACR 1017. According to details in the MACR, Jérôme Nawracaj is reported to have initially tried to evade capture. He had found and stolen a bicycle and on 21 October, he was denounced to the Germans by a woman to whom he had asked for directions. He was apparently shot in the back by German soldiers while riding away.
See the pages for other members of the crew at www.evasioncomete.be (search on 42-30372.) Like the 3 other KIA on board, Jerome was first buried on 22 October 1943 at the Chièvres communal cemetery, near Ath, Belgium.
Since after the war, Jerome Nawracaj rests at the US Military Cemetery at Margraten, Holland.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17062836 and O-678500
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner / Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13061919 and O-797521
- Highest Rank: Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11066504
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron 413th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35335090
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18075384 and O-747132
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shack Rabbit III
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 20 October 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Station 138
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Manville, NJ, USA | 27 September 1920 | Staff Sergeant Jerome C. Nawracaj was born September 27, 1920. He was the son of Stanley and Sophie Nawracaj. He was from Manville, New Jersey. |
|
Enlisted |
Newark, New Jersey, United States | 31 July 1942 | |
|
Died |
Hensies, Belgium | 21 October 1943 | On October 20, 1943, he was serving as the Left Waist Gunner aboard “Shack Rabbit III,” B-17 42-30372, of the 96th Bomb Group, 339th Bomb Squadron, when it went down over Hensies, Belgium. |
|
Buried |
Revisions
Merged duplicate records to include information from
MACR 1017 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database;
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1017;
Snetterton Falcons pg 60 & 76
IDPF and/or crash report researched by Bill Beigel. IDPF donated to American Air Museum by Bill Beigel. For more information about this flyer, you may contact http://ww2research.com.
