Anthony J Ardzinski

Military
AJ Ardzinski, a tail gunner of the 385th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-32059) nicknamed "Poltergeist". Image via Tim Bivens. Bivens has handwritten on reverse: ' AJ Ardzinski- Tail gunner. Fred Heiser crew 550th BS, 385th BG, B-17G-35-BO "Poltergeist" 42-32059.' Bivens enclosed a letter with the print: 7-14-03, Hello Roger, Got another “Mystery B-17” for you. Just recently obtained the enclosed prints from slides taken by the co-pilot Bob James in the photos. A media-380096.jpg FRE 1341 AJ Ardzinski, a tail gunner of the 385th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-32059) nicknamed "Poltergeist". Image via Tim Bivens. Bivens has handwritten on reverse: ' AJ Ardzinski- Tail gunner. Fred Heiser crew 550th BS, 385th BG, B-17G-35-BO "Poltergeist" 42-32059.' Bivens enclosed a letter with the print: 7-14-03, Hello Roger, Got another “Mystery B-17” for you. Just recently obtained the enclosed prints from slides taken by the co-pilot Bob James in the photos. As noted, he was KIA flying a Mossie after his 385th BG tour. He shared some of the slides with crew members, my copies coming from the gunner Julius King....This crew’s assigned B-17G shows up in photo No 2 They called the plane “Poltergeist” but Mr King says he doesn’t think it was ever painted on the plane. They later were shot down while flying 43-38156. If you have any info on 42-107054, let me know…..’ This plane was also called "Vagabond" according to the 385th records. 42-107054 is known as "Vat 69" (we have nose art of her as well) Roger Freeman Collection

official 385th records

Object Number - FRE 1341 - AJ Ardzinski, a tail gunner of the 385th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-32059) nicknamed "Poltergeist". Image...

Anthony Ardzinski was a Tail Gunner in the 385th Bomb Group/ 550th Bomb Squadron.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 385th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

AJ Ardzinski, a tail gunner of the 385th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-32059) nicknamed "Poltergeist". Image via Tim Bivens. Bivens has handwritten on reverse: ' AJ Ardzinski- Tail gunner. Fred Heiser crew 550th BS, 385th BG, B-17G-35-BO "Poltergeist" 42-32059.' Bivens enclosed a letter with the print: 7-14-03, Hello Roger, Got another “Mystery B-17” for you. Just recently obtained the enclosed prints from slides taken by the co-pilot Bob James in the photos. A
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Poltergeist, Vagabond
  • Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

New York City, New York, United States 3 October 1942 as a Private in the Air Corps

Died

Inverness, Citrus County, Florida, United States 14 January 1997

Born

Poland Born in Poland on 9 April 1923 (according to Veterans Affairs : http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/index.html ), or 21 April, 1923 (according to the SSDI : https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JP7K-MY4 ) - the son of Carl and Pauline Ardzinski

Buried

Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Florida, United States
Brooklyn, New York, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
ChangesChanges to middlename, service number, biography, events, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations and media associations
Sources

Veterans Affairs website
NARA WWII Enlistment records
SSDI

Date
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / unit history

Anthony J Ardzinski: Gallery (2 items)