Raymond E Wojnicz
Military
Added POW card
Object Number - UPL 24968 - Raymond Wojnicz POW card - Prisoner No. 78367 at Buchenwald. Released from there on 19 October 1944.
A Bombardier in the 447th Bomb Group/709th Bomb Squadron, Ray Wojnicz was shot down in B-17 #43-37788 on the Munich mission 13 July 1944. Initially evaded with the help of French patriots, he was guided to Paris. Due to infiltration of the evasion network, he and his Piot Russell Hilding were arrested in August in Paris. First detained at the Fresnes prison near Paris, they were sent to the Buchenwald camp in Germany, from where they were released on 19 October 1944. Interned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Poland, the POWs were force-marched from that camp at the end of January 1945 and arrived at Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
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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: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39553245
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16057414 and O-757199
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 709th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 13 July 1944
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Konzentrationslager Buchenwald
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States | 22 May 1919 | the son of Stanley and Nellie C. Wojnicz |
|
Enlisted |
Wisconsin, United States | 12 May 1939 | |
|
Other Bailed out |
near Vendrest, France | 13 July 1944 | Hit by Flak, with 2 motors out, Pilot Russell Hilding and Ray Wojnicz bailed out last from the stricken B-17 and landed near Vendrest, France |
|
Other Evaded (EVD) |
13 July 1944 | Wojnicz and his Pilot Russell Hilding were helped by French patriots on their way South, with the aim to reach Spain and Gibraltar and get back to England. The evasion network was infiltrated and both were arrested in Paris | |
|
Died |
Mansfield, Tarrant County, Texas, United States | 6 April 1982 | |
| Racine, Wisconsin, United States | |||
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
29 April 1945 | Handed over to the Gestapo in Paris, he was detained at the Fresnes Prison near Paris, then sent to the Buchenwald Camp in Germany. Released from there, he was sent to Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Poland from where the POWs were force-marched to Stalag 7A in Moosburg Germany. Liberated there by American troops. | |
|
Buried |
Laurel Land Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas, United States |
Revisions
MACR 6938
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
SSDI - Social Security Death Index
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 6938 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database