Walter E Bohenko
Military
Front row, from left to right : Bernard J. Komasinski, pilot; Winfield Scott Gippert, Co-Pilot; Edgar W. Michaels, Navigator; Charles H. Lain, Bombardier.
Back row, from left to right : Stanley J. Hulewicz Jr, Tail Gunner; Frank LaFazia, Ball Turret Gunner and Assistant Engineer; John H. McKee, Radio Operator/Gunner; Nelson E. Brott, Right Waist Gunner and Assistant Radio Operator; Walter E. Bohenko, Left Waist Gunner and Frank N. Schaeffer, Engineer. (Photo courtesy of Frank N. Schaeffer.)
► Note : Ball Turret Gunner LaFazia was replaced by S/Sgt Coley W. Richardson (not in the photo) for the 8 August 1944 mission when the Komasinski crew was shot down in B-24 "My Peach" Serial 42-100415.
Added photo of the Komasinski crew
Object Number - UPL 17734 - The Komasinski crew in the 44th Bomb Group / 506th Bomb Squadron. Front row, from left to right : Bernard J. Komasinski, pilot; Winfield Scott...
Walter Bohenko was a graduate of McKeesport High School, Class of 1940 and worked as an electrical apprentice before enlisting in the Air Corps in August 1942. Sent overseas after training as an aerial gunner, he was ssigned to the 44th Bomb Group/506th Bomb Squadron in Shipdham, England. On his 4th mission, he was Left Waist Gunner on B-24 # 42-100415 when it ran into mechanical trouble on return in the afternoon from the 8 August 1944 mission to bomb the airfield at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. He and seven other crew members managed to evade with the help of French patriots. Hidden in woods with the local Maquis in the Montmirail region, Bohenko was liberated by advancing US troops. Back in England on 31 August 1944. Escape & Evasion Report E&E 1302. After the war, Walter changed his name into Jacob > Jacobson (?)
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32855843
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16104111 and O-696765
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35914236
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15108013 and O-700477
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15108057 and O-717078
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: My Peach
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 506th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 8 August 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Pathway
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
McKeesport, Pennsylvania | 30 July 1921 | |
|
Enlisted |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | 1 August 1942 | as a Private in the Air Corps |
|
Other Evaded (EVD) |
Marne, France | 8 August 1944 - 27 August 1944 | Landed near Orbais-L'Abbaye (Marne), France. Helped by French patriots and underground fighters of the FFI (Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur), he was liberated on 27 August 1944 by advancing US troops. He was back in England on 31 August. Escape & Evasion Report E&E 1302. |
| McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8080 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database