Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
BOLESKI, Donald John - Date of
birth
21 October 1919 -
Age
24 - Place of
birth
Ranshaw, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Baltimore, Maryland
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33516148 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
703rd Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 August 1944 - Place of
death
Mosigkau near Dessau, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| O | 4 | 12 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John Boleski (father)
Nettie Boleski (mother)
Mary Boleski (sister)
Florence Boleski (sister)
Dorothy Boleski (sister)
Chester Boleski (brother)
Donald Boleski (brother)
Alma Boleski (sister)
Edna T. (Andrejewski) Boleski (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-52447 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Dessau, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 8431
More information
Sgt Donald J. Boleski attended Coal Township High School and graduated in 1937.He was married to Edna Andrejewki on 24 October 1942.
He enlisted in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 20 September 1943. He trained at Tyndall Field in Florida where he completed a gunnery course in April 1944 and at Westover Field in Massachusetts. He was sent overseas on 16 June 1944.
The airplane with number 42-51098 was hit by flak and went down over the target. On its way down, it knocked the wing off airplane 42-52447. Both ships went down and two to five parachutes were seen, but it is not sure from which airplane the parachutes were.
Eight crew members were killed and were buried in a mass-grave at Mosigkau, together with casualties of other crashed planes, according to German records. An investigation in October 1946 revealed that between August and September 1944, four American planes crashed in the area. In some cases bodies were buried near the crashed plane, another time they were buried in mass-graves. Some of the remains could be identified at that time, others couldn't.
Also, proper investigation was not possible due to political restrictions, because the area was in Russian-occupied territory.
One crew member was taken prisoner.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census, www.fold3.com - MACR, WWII Draft Cards; 1930 United States Federal Census
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Coal Township High School, 1936