Eugene James Smietana
Military
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
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Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-720735
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34801877
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12175226 at enlistment, then 0-829596
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
Places
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
Photo of my grandmother's cousin, Eugene Smietana. From Smietana family archives.
MACR 12778
WWII Draft cards
NARA WWII POW records
US Census 1930
VA Gravesite Locator
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