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Military
Back Row L to R Gen Hoyt S Vanderberg P 1st Lt Royden L Lebrecht, Denison, TX C 1st Lt Clinton H Killian, Roosevelt, Utah N 1st Lt Grover A Zink, Qron, Kansas B 1st Lt Albert J Mickish, Perry, OK Lt Col Robert H Parham Radio T/Sgt JohnR Reilly, Utica, NY Front Row L to R E T/Sgt Harold F Weir, Lapeer, MI Rad Ast S/Sgt Paul E Davidson, Springfield, Mo Ast Eng S/Sgt John A Givens Jr, Louis, Mo Crew Chief M/Sgt Paul T Bashis, Cambridge, Mass Tail S/Sgt John Gunnu, Albany, NY Gunner S/Sgt Adney J Harmon, Sacco, Maine
The crew standing and sitting on top of their famous B-24D Liberator, 41-11761, 'The "Squaw",' that successfully flew on 71 combat missions without a casualty. 1944
1st Lt Grover A. Zink :- Air medal award card. 98BG.
1st Lt Grover A. Zink :- DFC award card. 98BG.
Navigator B-24 41-11761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1-Aug-43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. Returned to USA for war bonds tour with A/C 1944.
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (6OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (2 xBattle Stars).
Military | Captain | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Royden Louis LeBrecht was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew his B-24D, he named, The Squaw, on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
Established as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron and trained by Third Air Force. Deployed to Egypt in June 1942 over South Atlantic Transport Route transiting from Morrison Field, Florida though the Caribbean to Brazil; performed trans-Atlantic...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, 41-11761, was first named, Sleepy, by the men in the 8th Air Force and the 93rd Bomb Group in the U.K. It was, later, renamed, The Squaw, by it's Command Pilot, Lt. Royden LeBrecht, after being transferred to the 9th Air...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Stafford County, KS | 31 January 1917 |
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Son of Grover Cleveland and Dora Eunice [Cox] Zink. |
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| Enlisted | Fort Riley, KS | 15 December 1941 |
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Fort Riley, Kansas |
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| Lived in | Turon, KS | 1943 |
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Turon, Kansas, USA. |
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| Based | Benina | 1943 – 1944 |
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Assigned to 343BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. |
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| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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Navigator B-24 41-11761 'Little Squaw' flew on the 1-Aug-43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. |
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| War Bonds Tour | Fort Worth, TX, USA | 1944 |
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Returned to Fort Worth, Texas for war bonds tour with A/C. |
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| Died | Turon, KS | 10 June 2007 |
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TURON - Zink, Grover A., 90, died June 10, 2007. Service 10 a.m. Friday, Larrison Mortuary, Pratt. Survivors: wife, Lu Helen; three sons; one daughter; 7 grandchildren; 6 step-grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. |
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| Buried | Old Neola Cemetery Zenith, Stafford County, KS | 12 June 2007 |
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Old Neola Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 23 March 2022 10:00:36 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, nickname, service number, biography, awards, events, person associations, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/636766949 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 19:07:26 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://texashistory.unt.edu / USAAF Photo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 19:05:47 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events and media associations |
| Sources | ||
http://texashistory.unt.edu / USAAF Photo |
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