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name
CZARNECKI, Anthony W - Date of
birth
6 April 1913 -
Age
30 - Place of
birth
Kingsland, Bergen County, New Jersey -
Hometown
Bergen County, New Jersey
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
32466895 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
323rd Bombardment Squadron,
91st Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 January 1944 - Place of
death
Bad Münder, 15 miles southwest of Hannover, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 43 | 18 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Joseph Czarnecki (father)
Helen (Bitter) Czarnecki (mother)
Pauline Czarnecki (sister)
Stella Czarnecki (sister)
Leo Czarnecki (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-31372 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: The Malayan Lady aka Harass Dragon
Destination: Oschersleben, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Ago/Focke-Wulf aviation industry
MACR: 1917
More information
S/Sgt Anthony W. Czarnecki was a bookkeeper.He enlisted in Newark, New Jersey on 4 September 1943.
The B-17 was attacked by enemy fighters. The no. 3 engine was knocked out and the propeller would not feather. Also the right stabalizer had been shot off. Sgt Ernest G. Kretchmer, enigneer, noticed that the main oxygen supply system was on fire as well as the nose catwalk area. Starting to fall faster from formation und still under heavy attack, the bail out order by Lt Reid was given. The airplane suddenly went into a hard right spinning drive.
A crew member of another B-17 in the formation saw that a German fighter just clipped the right wing tips and the plane went into a hard spinning drive to the right.
Four crew members managed to bail out, but the parachute of the co-pilot, Lt Morgan, caught fire and he didn't survive the jump. Six other crew members died in the crash. The killed men were initially buried at the cemetery of Bad Münder on 14 January 1944.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / 1930 Census
Photo source: Jac Engels, The Herald-News (Passaic, New Jersey) 9 January 1943