Peter E Miskinis
Military
RWG
Russell Gecks Crew
96th BG - 337th BG
shot down 4 April 1944. Evaded
Object Number - UPL 37947 - SSGT Peter Miskinis RWG Russell Gecks Crew 96th BG - 337th BG shot down 4 April 1944. Evaded
Shot down 8 April 1944 in B-17 #4239856 'Wacky Woody. ' Evaded.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Lane tech of chicago, wacky woody
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Amsterdam, New York, USA | 17 February 1923 | |
|
Enlisted |
Albany, New York | 2 January 1943 | |
|
Died |
Amsterdam, New York | 24 April 2006 | |
|
Other Bailed out/Evaded |
Urk, The Netherlands | 8 April 1944 | "I saw the ground about 7000 ft below, I jumped. My helmet flew off seconds into the jump. Looking around during my silent descent, I noticed the plane burst into a ball of flames as the fuel tanks exploded. On the ground I rolled the chute into a small package, stomped it into the ground and threw some brush over it. The place were I landed had recently been reclaimed from the sea (The Northeast Polder). Before the war, a half circular dike was build here in sea that had closed off some 12 x 16 miles of water, which had been pumped out. No trees had been planted yet. It was flat as the panhandle of Texas". "A droning noise warned me to take cover. It sounded like a small Piper Cub, looking for those who were shot down. I dashed for the bank of a canal about a block away. Covered myself with small brush and whatever I could find for camouflage. The searcher flew on and we four, Gecks, Deason, Hanley and myself came out of hiding and came together. As I looked up, I saw the B-17's heading home. Standing in an open field we were confronted with the question 'what next?' Should we walk north and hope to catch a boat to Sweden? Or go south and hope to make our way out to Spain? Nice course objectives of the four Americans dressed in flying suits... A bit naive in geography, lack of ID-papers, language ability and the circumstances in Nazi occupied Europe. Between them, Sweden and Spain were thousand miles, 500 guarded bridges and a million German soldiers. In reality the men were trapped inside the bowl the Northeast Polder was. In the far distance there were only a few guarded exits out. Soon the men realized they had to find someone of the Dutch underground for help. The full story can be found here: http://www.zzairwar.nl/dossiers/156.html |
Revisions
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3651 / MACR 3651; Snetterton Falcons, pg 130 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
