Military
Letter sent to my father, Stanley Vitkavage (the pilot), from family of 2nd Lt. Lambert Koupal. James Kostel was Lambert Koupal's grandfather according to the original letter we have from my father, given to him by the Military.
Second page of letter sent to my father (Stanley Vitkavage, the pilot) with a request for him to contact all of the next of kin of his crew on the flight that was shot down over Germany on 27 Feb 1945.
Eugene Smietana was Right Waist Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Nose Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Warren Anderson was Nose Turret Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator | 445th Bomb Group
Allan Burns was Radio Operator/Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Felix Kolasinski was Left Waist Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. He baled out in the vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. According to US trial Review and Recommendations...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator / Bombardier | 445th Bomb Group
Lambert Koupal was Navigator/Bombardier on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Ralph Squires was Tail Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW). He was one of six brothers who all...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 445th Bomb Group
James Sullivan was Co-Pilot on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
...
Military | Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 445th Bomb Group
Louie Tillery was Top Turret Gunner on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 445th Bomb Group
My father, Stanley William Vitkavage, was assigned to the 701st Bombing Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group flying out of Tibenham, England. He was flying a B-24J Liberator (tail number 42-51506) when the aircraft was lost on 27 Feb 1945. There is a MACR ...
Group
The 445th Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators from Tibenham, Norfolk. The crews' first mission was bombing U-boat installations at Kiel on 13 December 1943. The Group continued to hit strategic targets in Germany, including the aircraft components factory...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
Over target area (Halle, Germany), pilot Stanley Vitkavage feathered one engine (mechanical malfunction?). A/C gradually fell back and was last seen over the Koblenz area. Near Freiburg/Breisgau the plane was hit and the crew bailed out. Crashed...
27 February 1945
1,107 bombers and 745 fighters are dispatched to hit road and rail communications at Halle and Leipzig using H2X radar
Military site : airfield
Tibenham was built in 1941-1942 by W and C French Ltd with a standard 2,000 yard main runway, and two other runways both 1,400 feet in length. Accommodation was provided for a full USAAF heavy bomber group in dispersed sites. Personnel of the 320th...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 15 November 1924 | |
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Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, the son of Thomas and Katherine Smietana |
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| Lived in | 1942 | |
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Chicago, Cook County, Illinois |
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| captured | 27 February 1945 | |
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in the immediate vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, after he baled out of B-24 42-51506 |
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| Prisoner of War (POW) | 27 February 1945 – May 1945 | |
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Interned in Germany. NARA WWII POW records : “Returned to Military Control 23 October 1945.” |
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| Buried | 1970 | |
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Eugene Smietana rests at the Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Niles, Cook County, Illinois |
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| Died | 29 January 1970 | |
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Chicago, Cook County, Illinois |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 May 2019 16:36:33 | tjanas | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
Photo of my grandmother's cousin, Eugene Smietana. From Smietana family archives. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 March 2019 09:36:41 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, events, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 12778 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:09:25 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Birsic MACR 12778 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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