Omar Jose Gonzales
Military
Object Number - UPL 38081 - Extract from the first and only page of MACR 15553 linked to 42-30088 on the 5 November 1943 mission to Gelsenkirchen. Pilot Flesh gave the order to...
Prisoner of War (POW). On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage were able to regain control and landed at the RAF base at Tangmere, Kent. MACR 15553.
When a POW Omar devised some flexible walking shoes from parts of his wooden bed frame. Post war he made a name as an inventor, writing articles for Popular Mechanics and Popular Science.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 100th Bomb Group 349th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34201968
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36507324
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Assistant Radio Operator; Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17033849 at enlistment, then O-xxxxxx
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 349th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11045517
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 100th Bomb Group 349th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11063596 at enlistment, then O-798486
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Squawkin Hawk II
Missions
- Date: 5 November 1943
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Laredo, Texas, USA | 22 April 1916 | the son of Jose and Maria Molina Gonzales |
|
Enlisted |
14 January 1942 | as a Private in the Air Corps, at Randolph Field, Texas | |
|
Other Bailed out of B-17 #42-30088 |
5 November 1943 | ||
|
Other captured |
5 November 1943 | in the vicinity of Peer, Limburg Province, Belgium | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 5 November 1943 - 8 May 1945 | Interned at Stalag Luft 1, per NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military Control 8 June 1945" |
|
Died |
San Antonio, Texas, USA | 27 July 2005 | |
| San Antonio, Texas, USA | |||
|
Buried |
San Antonio, Texas, USA | Omar Gonzales rests at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, |
Revisions
Updated the location of the POW event per info stated in the event section.
Updated the location of the POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a connection to Stalag Luft I per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
MACR 15553
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
WWII Draft Cards
VA Gravesite Locator
100th Bomb Group Foundation Directory, 2000 - 2001, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 511-2 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia
