George W Popelka
Military"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Crew Number 94
George was already married and working in a plant making machine gun mounts when he enlisted in 1943. He enrolled in the Aviation Cadet Program and did his training in New Mexico and Arizona before crewing up in Texas, then flying over to join the Group at Framlingham. He flew on 35 combat missions from June 29 1944 his most memorable being the shuttle to Poltava. Hit by flak over Poland they were unable to keep up with the Group and landed at the nearest Russian airfield. Their aircraft was a write-off and the Russians gave them a lift to Egypt. He stayed on in the Reserve - retiring after 22 years' service - and worked as an industrial engineer.
DFC; Air Medal 6 clusters
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Cedar Rapids, IA, USA |
Revisions
"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.390thspace.com/missions.php?name=Popelka%2C+George+W