Joseph J Turecky

Military
media-31037.jpeg UPL 31037 Lt Colonel Joe Turecky - Lt pilot C-47 440 Troop Carrier Group 1944 WWII

Image owned by David E. Huntley - Author & Publisher
Huntley Associates Dallas, Inc.
P.O. Box 6861 McKinney TX 75071

Object Number - UPL 31037 - Lt Colonel Joe Turecky - Lt pilot C-47 440 Troop Carrier Group 1944 WWII

Joseph J. Turecky was a lieutenant pilot in the 440th Troop Carrier Group, 96th Squadron. He flew a C-47 with a designation Bristol "G" George, tail number 915.



Participated in the 4 airborne invasions; Neptune (Normandy, Second day), Dragoon (Southern France), Market Garden (Holland) and Varsity (The Rhine). After dropping paratroops in Neptune, Dragoon and Market he towed gliders, following the paradrops. Joe's airplane was hit by ground fire in Normandy and Holland. He helped deliver gasoline to General Patton's tankers in his relief of Bastogne.



Joe's awards were: Air Medal, with 3 Oak Leaf clusters, Presidential Unit Citation, ETO Campaign Medal with 7 Battle Stars. Retired as a Lt. Colonel and is now 96 years old. (in 2017



Coment from Joe on the anniversary of D-Day;

"I was a replacement pilot at that time. A second replacement pilot and I stood at the end of the runway at Exeter, England at 1:30 AM on June 6, 1944 and saluted them and said a small prayer for them. Of course, the mission was plagued with disasters. Besides anti-aircraft firings and spotlights, as the formations were descending to drop altitudes of 500 feet, they encountered thin layers of clouds. Trying to keep in the close formation used to facilitate dropping paratroopers bunched together, staying in close formation under those circumstances with only three 10 inch purple discs on the wings of the C-47s was a major problem, which led to many collisions and crashes.



The other pilot and I flew our planes the next day, in daylight, to the same area between Omaha and Utah Beaches to drop supplies to the troopers on the ground. The supplies were in 4 pararacks on our bellies and a large bundle at the side door. I saw the mayhem on the beaches and we encountered anti-aircraft firings at us, with one bullet piercing my right wing. Fortunately it missed the fuel tanks, because we were not equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks. A couple of days later, after the engineers were able to scratch out a landing strip just above Omaha Beach, we were able to land between barrage balloons, which were installed to keep the Germans from strafing the strip. From then on, as our troops advanced, we were able to deliver supplies to more scratched out strips. The faster our troops advanced, the further our supply runs got.



However, as the French saying goes, "Cest le guerre". "It is the war." When the troops advanced enough, we were moved from Exeter, England to Le Mans, France, and eventually to Orleans, the home of Saint Joan of France. End of history lesson."

Revisions

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NARA file verified officer number and Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters. He earned at least one bronze star on the EAME Campaign Meda.

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Photo by David E. Huntley at Veteran's Day Luncheon 2014 Frontier of Flight Museum Dallas Texas.

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Extract of my interview with Joe for my book
David E. Huntley - Author

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This is an extract of an interview with Lt Colonel Joe Turecky for my book and web site.
Offered here for public information.
David E. Huntley - Author

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