Alexander Kramarinko

Military
Lieutenant Alexander Kramarinko of the 303rd Bomb Group with the engine of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: '"Good Old Chi-Town". Lt. Alexander Kramarinko of the Air Corps used to be in the Swiss Dairy Bar at Haywood, Illinois. He lived with his parents at 1931 Potomac Avenue, Chicago andhis fieancee is Miss Jean Neuman at 323 Tremont Ave. Kenmore, N.Y. His very inclusive message is "Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to Good old Chi-Town." O.P.S. sho media-407551.jpg FRE 4179 Lieutenant Alexander Kramarinko of the 303rd Bomb Group with the engine of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: '"Good Old Chi-Town". Lt. Alexander Kramarinko of the Air Corps used to be in the Swiss Dairy Bar at Haywood, Illinois. He lived with his parents at 1931 Potomac Avenue, Chicago andhis fieancee is Miss Jean Neuman at 323 Tremont Ave. Kenmore, N.Y. His very inclusive message is "Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to Good old Chi-Town." O.P.S. shows him on a ladder near an aircraft motor.' On reverse: Current Affairs Ltd, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 4179 - Lieutenant Alexander Kramarinko of the 303rd Bomb Group with the engine of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 16 Dec 1942. Printed...

On 6-September-1942 while serving as Co-Pilot of B-17 #41-24516 'Meltin' Pot' the aircraft lost 2 engines off Londonderry after flight from Newfoundland. Landed in shallow water and all crew members walked ashore.

Shot down 5 April 1943 in B-17 #41-24465 'Montana Power' Prisoner of War (POW). Evasion story in Russell A. Strong's "First Over Germany" tells of landing in Wuustwezel, Belgium and joining with crew mate S/Sergeant William Baker LWG. Got civilian assistance in Belgium and headed to Paris. Somehow the two men got to the express train to Bordeaux, reached the Spanish border and crossed the Pyrenees mountains. Struggling through hills and valleys in cold and snow, they finally made it to Spain. Resting in a hut 6 kilometers over the border, they were awakened by German soldiers. Unfortunately a treaty allowed Germans to arrest errant airmen inside 10K of the border. They were Prisoner of War (POW)s for the rest of the war. Kramarinko was in Stalag 3 and made the forced march from there to Stallag 7A in Moosburg. He changed his name after the war and became Alexander Kramar. See his page at the Belgian COMET evasion network website at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fkramaral.html

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 34258894
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14071743
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16022965
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39826025
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11021749 and O-732757
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator / Bombardier

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Montana Power
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Meltin Pot
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

10 December 1918

Enlisted

Chicago, Illinois, United States 10 November 1941 as an Aviation Cadet in the Air Corps

Other

Evaded

Belgium 5 April 1943 Initially evaded thanks to Belgian and French individuals. Arrested right after having crossed the French-Spanish border.

Died

Clarendon Hills, Illinois, United States 26 May 1981

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Żagań, Poland Initially evaded; arrested right over the Franco-Spanish border. Interned at Stalag Luft 3. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military control 12/06/1945"

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Updated link to his page at www.evasioncomete.be

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 15534
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
Personal research on his evasion and on the crew
Contact with grandson

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 13-Nov-2014. Association connections within existing data.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15533 / MACR 15533, Losses of the 8th & th Air Forces p. 30-31, First Over Germany by Russel Strong pp 81-82 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Alexander Kramarinko: Gallery (2 items)