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name
HRUBOVCAK, George Joseph Jr - Date of
birth
11 October 1920 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Lansford, Carbon County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Lansford, Carbon County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33188294 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Ball Turret Gunner -
Unit
548th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
26 July 1943 - Place of
death
North Sea, off the East Frisian Islands, 35 miles from the nearest land, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
George J. Hrubovcak (father)
Mary (Gonas) Hrubovcak (mother)
Mary Hrubovcak (sister)
Anne M. Hrubovcak (sister)
Irene Hrubovcak (sister)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-5895 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Souse Family
Destination: Hannover, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 191-B
More information
S/Sgt George J. Hrubovcak, Jr. graduated from Lansford High School in 1939 and enlisted in Allentown, Pennsylvania on 10 August 1942. He received basic training at Keesler Field, Mississippi. From there he was transferred to Fort Myers, Florida, where he attended the gunnery school and then studied radio at Salt Lake City, Utah.He had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant following graduation 6 March 1943 from the Lowry Field Armament School in Denver, Colorado.
The airplane was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed in the Baltic Sea. Six crew members were taken prisoner, and five were killed. The plane blew up before hitting the water. It had been on fire and seemed to be trying to ditch. No parachutes were reported from this plane.
Source of information: André Koch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com, www.ancestry.com - Veteran Compensation Application File / 1940 Census, www.newspapers.com - The Morning Call
Photo source: André Koch, www.newspapers.com - The Morning Call