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Personal info

Full name
KOLUCH, Martin Adam
Date of birth
23 November 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Central Falls, Providence County, Rhode Island
Hometown
Central Falls, Providence County, Rhode Island

Military service

Service number
O2001355
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Bombardier
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
Mountains near Innsbruck, Austria

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
K 17 25

Immediate family

Members
Stanislaw Koluch (father)
Anna M. (Krawzcykowska) Koluch (mother)
Marion Koluch (sister)
Catherine Koluch (sister)
Angeline T. Koluch (sister)
Jozef Koluch (brother)
Frank J. Koluch (brother)
Charles Koluch (brother)

More information

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."
Pvt James J. Smith:
"He was killed instantly by a shell that hit the flight deck.”

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Guth Koluch Family Tree, www.fold3.com, www.findagrave.com – Russ Pickett, http://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Dec.44.html

Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Michel Beckers