Military
Urie H. Zook was born in Belleville, Pennsylvania, USA to an Amish family. Despite the Amish disposition on non-violence, Urie voluntarily enlisted for combat in the United States Army Air Force.
He became a ball turret gunner for a B-17 Flying Fortress and successfully completed his first tour of duty, despite statistics suggesting he would be lucky to complete a handful of missions.
He then re-enlisted for a second tour of duty before being shot down over Germany. Allegedly, Urie survived the crash of his B-17 only to be captured by the Nazis behind enemy lines. He died during a bombing by Allied forces while on a train with POWs, assumed to be heading toward a concentration camp.
Group
The 398th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire on strategic bombing raids over Germany. The Group switched focus in the days before D-Day, when they targeted enemy positions on the Cherbourg peninsula. When the Allies...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Lincoln 9/12/45; Dow Fd 17/12/44; Assigned 600BS/398BG [N8-M] Nuthampstead 13/2/45; (4m) Missing in Action Wittenberg, Ger 22/2/45 with Hubert Beatty, Co-pilot: Jim Honaker, Navigator: Jim Luna (3 Killed in Action); Bombardier: Urie Zook,...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Belleville, Pennsylvania, USA | 19 October 1922 |
|
Urie H. Zook was born in Belleville, PA on October 19, 1922 to Amish parents. |
||
| Died | Germany | 10 March 1945 – 22 February 1945 |
|
Urie H. Zook died on March 3, 1945 after volunteering for a second tour of duty in the USAAF. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 March 2020 19:12:34 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number |
| Sources | ||
Added S/N from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA). |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 September 2015 22:32:23 | zookfamily | Changes to nickname |
| Sources | ||
Please contact zook.christopherd@gmail.com for additional information, if needed. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 September 2015 22:31:41 | zookfamily | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
I am Urie's grand-nephew, and I've been researching the genealogy of my family for several years. Urie is a proud figure in my family, along with General Samuel Zook who fought for the Union in the American Civil War. The story of how he died has been passed down from my grandparents to my parents and to me. Unfortunately, that means there are few (if any) sources that can corroborate the story online. You can contact the Mennonite History Museum of Belleville, PA for more information or verification, which is where his flight jacket is located on loan from my family, at 717-935-5574. Please contact me at zook.christopherd@gmail.com if you have any additional questions or want more verification. Thanks! |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:26:19 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 12650 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
