Eugene James Smietana

Military
media-38579.jpeg UPL 38579

Photo of my grandmother's cousin, Eugene James Smietana.

Object Number - UPL 38579

Eugene Smietana was Right Waist Gunner on board of B-24 #42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

A pathfinder B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51681) of the 453rd Bomb Group flies in formation with a fellow Liberator of the 453rd and and a pathfinder Liberator of the 445th Bomb Group. Image via Alan Rowsell.

445th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Warren Joseph Anderson

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39911604
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner

Allan Henry Burns

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33728946
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator

Felix W (Valentine) Kolasinski

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35331002
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Lambert E Koupal

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-2072788
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator / Bombardier

Ralph Louis Squires

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15126504
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

42-51506

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Signal Squares on the airfield at Tibenham, B-24 Liberators of the 398th Bomb Group are visible in the background. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Tibenham Signal Squares.'

Tibenham

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Tivetshall

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

15 November 1924 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, the son of Thomas and Katherine Smietana

Other

captured

27 February 1945 in the immediate vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, after he baled out of B-24 42-51506

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

27 February 1945 Interned in Germany. NARA WWII POW records : “Returned to Military Control 23 October 1945.”

Died

29 January 1970 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Born

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Buried

Eugene Smietana rests at the Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Niles, Cook County, Illinois

Revisions

Date20 Apr 2023 21:02:23
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Capitalized the words "Waist Gunner" in the "Role/job" field.

 

Date24 May 2019 16:36:33
Contributortjanas
ChangesChanges to media associations
Sources

Photo of my grandmother's cousin, Eugene Smietana. From Smietana family archives.

Date30 Mar 2019 09:36:41
ContributorED-BB
ChangesChanges to middlename, service number, biography, events, person associations and place associations
Sources

MACR 12778
WWII Draft cards
NARA WWII POW records
US Census 1930
VA Gravesite Locator

Date27 Sep 2014 18:09:25
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

Birsic MACR 12778 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Eugene James Smietana: Gallery (3 items)