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Personal info

Full name
SENDZICK, William Anthony
Date of birth
29 March 1916
Age
27
Place of birth
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Hometown
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Military service

Service number
13025970
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
Unit
527th Bombardment Squadron,
379th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
11 June 1943
Place of death
North Sea, north of Borkum, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Simon Sendzick (father)
Agnes Sendzick (mother)
Adelia Sendzick (sister)
Anna Sendzick (sister)
Helen Sendzick (sister)
Joseph B. Sendzick (brother)
Agatha Sendzick (sister)
Stella Sendzick (sister)
Elenore Sendzick (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-3099
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Willemshaven, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the U-boat yards
MACR: 1368

More information

S/Sgt William A. Sendzick attended GAR High School.

He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on 20 October 1941 and was sent overseas in May 1943.

The aircraft was attacked by fighters over the target and on the return flight over the North Sea which set it on fire. It crashed north of Borkum Island. Only one crew member could bail out and was rescued by a German minesweeper. The other nine men drowned.

One of the last persons to see Sgt Sendzick was his younger brother, Cpl Joseph Sendzick, then newly assigned to that base. The first intimation Sgt Sendzik was lost was received by his brother accidentally when another member of the airfield happened to mention that he had just seen the belongings of a chap named Sendzick who was missing.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, www.379thbga.org, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.archives.gov - 1920/1930 Census, www.newspapers.com - The Wilkes-Barre Record, www.fold3.com - WWII Draft Card

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com - The Wilkes-Barre Record