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name
SPYKER, Jack Howard - Date of
birth
17 January 1924 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan -
Hometown
Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
36453523 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
856th Bombardment Squadron,
492nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
7 April 1945 - Place of
death
Plukkutjonnfjell Snasa, Norway
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 41 | 18 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Maynard A. Spyker (father)
Bessie Spyker (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-40549 -
Data
Type: B-24
Nickname: Cookie
Destination: Norway
Mission: Carpetbagger
MACR: 13740
More information
Sgt Jack H. Spyker was a graduate of the 1942 Class of Battle Creek High School. After graduation he owned and managed a 10-piece orchestra. He was an expert on most stringed instruments, playng the double bass in his own orchestra and the violin in the high school orchestra. Besides conducting his band, he worked at the A & P market.He enlisted in Kalamazoo, Michigan on 20 February 1943. He first served with the medical department of the Air Corps. He transferred to a combat unit and was sent overseas in December 1944.
His father was a veteran of the Mexican War and World War I.
The mission was to drop four members of the OSS Norso (Norwegian) Group. The airplane crashed, killing all eight crew members and four passengers. The exact cause and circumstances of the crash are not known.
A memorial is erected at the top of a mountaintop in the Snaasa area where the plane crashed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Leonard H. & Lois Spyker, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.ancestry.com - Stars and Stripes
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Leonard H. & Lois Spyker, Battle Creek Central High School yearbook 1942, Battle Creek Enquirer 30 May 1946