Memorial

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1st Lt Stanley J. Zdun graduated from Pittston High School in 1937 and immediately joined the Air Corps in 1942.


On 27 December 1944 eight gliders of the 95th squadron and five planes and five gliders of the 96th squadron took off from the airstrip at Chateaudun. The gliders were loaded to capacity with high explosives and were on a mission to drop supplies and ammunitions to the men of the 101st Airborne Division, surrounded in Bastogne, Belgium. Just before going into the Landing Zone at Bastogne, aircraft C-17A, 43-15658, was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire but continued on. The plane was seriously damaged and burning and it is believed that the co-pilot had been killed by the initial strike and that Stanley Zdun was probably seriously wounded. Two parachutes were seen to come from the aircraft, one of which belonged to the Radio Operator, Sgt. William F. Spearing, who was taken prisoner. The other was the Crew Chief, S/Sgt. Telio A. Puccio, who was badly burned about the hands and face and is believed to have died in Germany whilst in captivity. The aircraft crashed in flames near Sibret, South-West of Bastogne."