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Personal info

Full name
KARDOS, George J Jr
Date of birth
1 August 1925
Age
19
Place of birth
Michigan
Hometown
Genesee Township, Genesee County, Michigan

Military service

Service number
16130542
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Tail Gunner
Unit
720th Bombardment Squadron,
450th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
25 December 1944
Place of death
Near Innsbruck, Austria

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
D 6 17

Immediate family

Members
George J. Kardos (father)
Ruth E. (Boda) Kardos (mother)
Richard F. Kardos (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
44-41041
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Passionate Pirate
Destination: Innsbruck, Austria
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yard
MACR: 10744

More information

S/Sgt George J. Kardos joined the Regular Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois on 9 February 1944.

Cpl Daniel H. Clark:
"On 25 December 1944, our group was on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Innsbruck, Austria. I was flying as nose gunner in ship number 231 in the number seven position in the first box of the second attack unit. Lt Wolfe was flying ship number 44-41041 in the number five position in the first box of the second attack unit. Over the target, Lt Wolfe’s aircraft received a direct hit on the flight deck near the pilot’s compartment. Immediately, three crew members bailed out of the ship. The aircraft fell out of formation, turned over and went into a steep dive. Approximately five thousand feet from the ground, the wings of the aircraft came off. The rest of the ship fell to the ground and caught on fire. I saw two of the crew members parachutes unfold but failed to see any of the parachutes open. The time was 1208. The coordinates were 47.16N 11.24E."

S/Sgt Jean R. Arcand:
"His parachute probably didn’t open."

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Wickham Family Tree, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Dec.44.html

Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Michel Beckers, www.ancestry.com – Justin Wickham