James Van Ginkel
Military
"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Object Number - UPL 33504 - First Lieutenant James Van Ginkel, , Pilot, 466th Bomb Group
35 bombing missions in Germany: 1944 - 5 Sept Karlsruhe; 9 Sept Mainz; 9 Oct Koblenz; 12 Oct Osnabruck; 18 Oct Cologne; 19 Oct Mainz; 26 Oct Bottrop; 30 Oct Hamburg; 1 Nov Gelsenkirchen; 5 Nov Karlsruhe; 9 Nov Saarburcken; 29 Nov Bielefield; 26 Nov Bielefield; 16 Nov Aachen; 5 Dec Munster; 31 Dec Koblenz; 1945 - 1 Jan Koblenz; 13 Jan Rudesheim; 16 Jan Dresden; 21 Jan Heilborn; 3 Feb Magdeburg; 11 Feb Wesel; 15 Feb Magdeburg; 16 Feb Osnabruck; 21 Feb Nurnberg; 22 Feb Peine; 11 Mar Kiel; 12 Mar Freidberg; 15 Mar Zossen; 17 Mar Hannover; 18 Mar Berlin; 19 Mar Leipheim; 20 Mar Hemmingstedt; 22 Mar Kitzinger.
Discharged in December 1945 he first graduated in business administration, worked for two years then went to Law School. In 1953 he graduated, got married and and was employed as a Special Agent by the FBI until 1956 when he established his own law practice.
Air Medal w/ 4 Oak Leaf Cluster/ ETO Ribbon
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16086812
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 12 April 1945
- Date: 18 March 1945
- Date: 17 March 1945
- Date: 15 March 1945
- Date: 22 February 1945
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Prairie City, Iowa | 27 February 1923 | |
|
Died |
Atlantic, IA 50022, USA | 3 April 2016 | James Van Ginkel, of Atlantic, Iowa, longtime Atlantic attorney passed away April 3, 2016 at the Heritage House in Atlantic. James was born February 27, 1923, in Prairie City, Iowa. He was the youngest and last survivor of eight children born to John Christian and Caroline Gertrude (Van Nimwegen) Van Ginkel. He graduated from Monroe, Iowa, high school in 1941. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program in 1942 and completed flight training as a pilot receiving his wings and a commission as Second Lieutenant on February 8, 1944. He was assigned as a flight instructor at Waco, TX Army Airfield for a short time. He was then assigned as co-pilot to a B-24 Liberator Bomber Crew, and after combat training, flew to England and joined the 8th Air-force at Attlebridge, England. After five bombing missions the pilot was killed and he took over as pilot of the crew for the remaining total of thirty-five bombing missions to Germany. After the military service he attended the University of Iowa and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce in 1948 and a Juris Doctor Degree from Drake University in 1953. James was employed from July 1953 for 3 1/2 years as a special agent with Federal Bureau of Investigation serving in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and New York City. He practiced law in Atlantic since 1956, and in 2006, was awarded a distinguished service award by the city of Atlantic and the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce for serving as the Atlantic City Attorney for 40 years. |
|
Buried |
Atlantic, IA 50022, USA | 7 April 2016 | Atlantic Cemetery Atlantic Cass County Iowa, USA Plot: Block 11 |
| Monroe, IA 50170, USA |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self
