George W Popelka

Military
media-32884.jpeg UPL 32884 George W. Popelka, 390th Bomb Group Charles D Taylor collection

"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.

Object Number - UPL 32884 - George W. Popelka, 390th Bomb Group

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

The insignia of the 390th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • 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

Date
ContributorHelen
Changes
Sources

Iowans of the Mighty Eighth

Date
Changes
Sources

"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 22 "Biographies", by Charles D Taylor.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes

George W Popelka: Gallery (2 items)