Missing information?

Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?

Submit

Personal info

Full name
WASILEWSKI, Emil T
Date of birth
2 September 1922
Age
22
Place of birth
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Hometown
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
O-772782
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Bombardier
Unit
327th Bombardment Squadron,
92nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
13 September 1944
Place of death
Neustädt on Werra River, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Walter Wasilewski (father)
Helen (Roback) Wasilewski (mother)
Walter Wasilewski (brother)
Edwin Wasilewski (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
42-31250
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Mag the Hag the 2nd
Destination: Altenburg, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the oil refinery
MACR: 8882

More information

2nd Lt Emil T. Wasilewski attended Lindblom high School.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Chicago, Illinois on 6 November 1942.

The airplane feathered one engine and left the formation about half way between the target and Frankfurt, shortly after the formation was attacked by fighters. the pilot looked for a suitable place for an emergency landing but the aircraft lost altitude very rapidly, hit a chimney on a house and crashed at 12.45 hrs at the railway line on point 184,8. Only one crewmember had time to jump before the crash.

One crew member was taken prisoner, eight were killed. They were all buried at the cemetery of Neustädt-Werra.

According to the report of an investigation in January 1950, the remains of all the crewmembers were recovered by the 3046th QM Unit from this cemetery on 3 and 4 June 1945 and transferred to Margraten. At that time, the remains of only one crew member was interred by name. A new investigation at Neustädt could not be conducted due to the political situation in the area since this town layed in the Russian occupied zone of Germany.

In 1991, a German citizen, who was digging a grave in the cemetery of Neustädt, discovered a metal U.S. military identification tag and notified officials. The U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command was not able to gain acces to the site until 2007, and in 2008 excavated the area within the cemetery, and recovered human remains, and additional metal identification tags from three of the crewmembers. After forensic and circumstantial evidence research the remains could be identified as those of John J. Bono, John E. Hogan and Emil T. Wasilewski.

2nd Lt Wasilewski is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Viriginia.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, JPAC, www.ancestry.com - Illiniois Birth Index, www.newspapers.com - Chicago Tribune

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Michael V. Drachman, Mr. Robert Hutchings via Arie-Jan van Hees