Alex J Dominski

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Crash-landed 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-30733. Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt Alex Dominski got out of the crash-landed plane and was hidden by French citizens in the area of Chef-Boutonne. He was joined later by 3 other evaders of his crew - Radio Operator Richard Frievalt, Waist Gunner Hugh Halsell and Tail Gunner Michael Cahill in Endourchapt, near Saint-Laurent-de-Céris. All four were taken in charge by French members of the local Bir-Hacheim Maquis who led them to an isolated barn at a place called "Lafort", near the village of Négret, about 4km Southwest of Saint-Laurent-de-Céris. They and almost 40 Frenchmen (members of the underground, others avoiding forced labor, etc.,) stayed hidden there for a few days. On 22 March 1944, German troops who were looking for Maquisards surrounded the area and, with the help of French policemen, attacked the barn. All the men ran to the nearby woods and one young Frenchmen and Alex Dominski were shot from behind as they were fleeing. All the others, including Frievalt, Halsell and Cahill were arrested. In MACR 1958, Richard Frievalt states he had seen Dominski's body afterwards and noticed that Alex had been hit in the leg, hip and behind the ear, evidently shot that last time as he lay wounded on the ground. The bodies were taken to Poitiers and buried in the Pierre Levée cemetery there. The three American airmen were sent to camps in Germany and survived the war. The 34 Frenchmen were sent to the Briard prison in Poitiers where the Germans executed them there on 8 May 1944. Alex Dominski's name is carved on the monument in Endourchapt to all those who were murdered by the Germans, the 2 on 22 March 1944, and the 34 others who had been arrested that day and were shot in the Briard prison in Poitiers on 8 May 1944 (see http://resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com/2014/04/22-mars-1944-les-monume…) After the war, Alex Dominski's remains were brought to the Rhône American Cemetery.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 92nd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

27 September 1940 Wausau, Wisconsin

Other

left the crashed B-17

31 December 1943 at La Bataille, 3km Southwest of Chef-Boutonne in the Deux-Sèvres Department, France, together with the other crew members

Other

evaded capture

31 December 1943 - 22 March 1944 with the help of French citizens and members of the Maquis of Endourchapt, France

Other

murdered by German soldiers

22 March 1944 trying to escape from the barn near Négret where he and others were hiding

Born

Three Lakes, Wisconsin
Three Lakes, Oneida County, Wisconsin

Buried

in the Pierre Levée cemetery in Poitiers

Buried

Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial Alex Dominski rests at Plot C, Row 12, Grave 6.

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 1958
NARA WWII Enlistment records
ABMC website
http://resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com/2014/12/quatre-avaiteurs-americ…

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1958 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database