Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
ZIELINSKI, Donald F - Date of
birth
29 December 1917 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Bay City, Bay County, Michigan -
Hometown
Bay Ward 5, Bay County, Michigan
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-674714 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Navigator -
Unit
701st Bombardment Squadron,
445th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
24 February 1944 - Place of
death
Uffeln, south of Holtrup, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| E | 10 | 5 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John S. Zielinski (father)
Aunedpsia Zielinski (mother)
Edith Zielinski (sister)
Marion Zielinski (brother)
Albert Zielinski (brother)
Esther Zielinski (sister)
Ernest Zielinski (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-29130 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Gotha, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the aviation industry
MACR: 2556
More information
2nd Lt Donald F. Zielinski volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, Michigan on 20 March 1942.He completed 4 years of high school and worked as a laboratory assistant at the X-ray laboratory of Dow Chemical Company in Bay City, Michigan.
Statement of 1st Lt Glenn E. Jorgensen:
"I saw Lt. Swanson's plane 41-29130 get hit by fighters. Flames could be seen in the bomb bay. He turned and left formation. I turned and left a few minutes later and saw a plane that had crashed, burning on the ground."
Five crew members survived and were taken prisoner. Five were killed and initially buried at the church cemetery of Holtrup.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, John T. Gerlosky, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1940 Census / WWII Enlistment Record, www.findagrave.com, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=15784573&Plpi=4071220
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Debbie Dahl Swanson, http://www.dj1953.com/1944/scrapbook.htm, U.S. School Yearbooks - Centralia, Central High School, Bay City, Michigan, 1937, page 28, Arie-Jan van Hees, Bombardier Class Book 43-04, Midland Army Air Field, Texas.