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Personal info

Full name
KOGAN, Aaron
Date of birth
1 June 1920
Age
24
Place of birth
Grodno, Poland
Hometown
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan

Military service

Service number
O-723103
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Radar Operator
Unit
701st Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
20 March 1945
Place of death
3 miles east of Helgoland, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Charles Kogan (father)
Florence O. Kogan (mother)
Charles Kogan (brother)
Sara Hoffman (niece)

Plane data

Serial number
44-48851
Data
Type: B-24-JSH
Destination: Hemmingstedt, Germany
Mission: Bombing the Heide oil refinery
MACR: 13563

More information

2nd Lt Aaron Kogan graduated from Hamtramck High School and attended Wayne State University.

He was employed as a window designer for the Gratiot Linen Company.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Detroit, Michigan on 26 February 1943.

In March 1945, Lt Kogan volunteered for a flight over Germany although he had met his quota. The aircraft received a direct hit by flak while on the bomb run. The right wing came off and a large hole was observed in the left wing. The ship blew up as it crashed into the water. The entire crew is listed on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten.

Note: At the time Lt Kogan was born, Grodno was situated in Poland. Now it is a city in Belarus.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Jewish Servicemen Card, www.8thafhs.com

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Jewish War Veterans Department of Michigan