Charles E Vondrachek
MilitaryHe completed 25 missions from 01 May 1943 to 04 January 1944. He was 141st EM to complete tour. Reported to the ETO on 15 Apr 1943. He was assigned to Alden Mann crew.
On takeoff from base on mission to Bremen 13 Nov 1943, mission was recalled due to weather. B-17 #42-31038 was hit with severe turbulence going into a spin and losing several thousand feet in altitude. Lt. Cosper recovered control and ordered the crew to bale out. Cosper landed but the B17 immediately caught fire, exploded and killed him. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star. Losses reports 6 members of the crew had only arrived 31 October 1943. He received the DSC from his actions on first mission 01 May 1943.
He completed 25 missions from 01 May 1943 to 04 January 1944. He was 141st EM to complete tour.
AM 3OLC, DFC, PH, DSC, British DFM,
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
7 December 2005 | ||
Buried |
Manitowoc, Wisconsin |
Revisions
Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I p. 371, First Over Germany pg. 108 & 177, 306th BGA Collection, Russell Strong Index Cards, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pi…