Memorial

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2nd Lt Julius A. Vanacore attended high school for four years. He was employed at General Electric.
He enlisted on 27 February 1942 at Camp Upton Yaphank, New York.

The plane of Lt Vanacore and his crewmembers crashed on 2 April 1944 near Windischgarsten, 80 kilometers South West of Steyr, Austria. Three crewmembers were taken POW directly, 4 wounded men, including Lt Vanacore, were first brought to a Hospital in Linz on the Danube, Austria, and the 3 other crewmembers, including the pilot were killed in action.

Statement: Joseph J. Degnan, Technical Sergeant, Air Corps, Tail Gunner: "I certify that I personally observed Lt Follender's plane as the plane that went down on the Steyr Mission. Lt Follender was directly behind my tail. Two ME 109 had just got finished strafing our plane and went directly over his plane. The plane went into a flat spin. After dropping approximately 5000 feet, it looked as if he might pull out. He went back into the spin and stayed that way until he hit the ground. The plane did not catch fire."
A crewmember of Lt Vanacore who was also wounded and brought to the same Hospital, survived and became a POW, S/Sgt Gerald A. Duval wrote a book about his experiences including the crash named: "Wings and Barbed Wire".