Lambert E Koupal

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-33776.jpeg UPL 33776 Letter sent to my father, Stanley Vitkavage (the pilot), from family of 2nd Lt. Lambert Koupal. James Kostel was Lambert Koupal's grandfather according to the original letter we have from my father, given to him by the Military. Stanley Vitkavage Collection

Original military records from my father's personal collection

Object Number - UPL 33776 - Letter sent to my father, Stanley Vitkavage (the pilot), from family of 2nd Lt. Lambert Koupal. James Kostel was Lambert Koupal's grandfather...

Lambert Koupal was Navigator/Bombardier 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. Killed In Action (KIA).

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 William Kolasinski

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

Eugene James Smietana

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36758482
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

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

Wagner, South Dakota, USA 3 February 1924

Died

27 February 1945 in the loss of B-24 42-51506, over Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Buried

28 February 1945 at the Freiburg im Breisgau Town Cemetery, Germany

Buried

re-interred in the US, Lambert Koupal rests at the Saint Johns Cemetery in Wagner, Charles Mix County, South Dakota

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Completed the SD County he was from

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 12778
US Headstone Applications for 1950-1951
VA Gravesite Locator

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Birsic, MACR 12778, 2AD Roll of Honor / 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

Lambert E Koupal: Gallery (2 items)

Object number: UPL 33776 - Letter sent to my father, Stanley Vitkavage (the...

Object number: UPL 33777 - Second page of letter sent to my father (Stanley...