Memorial

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S/Sgt Stanley Pilch Jr. graduated from John Adams High School and attended Case School of Applied Science. He worked for the Buckeye Forging Company.

He enlisted in Cleveland, Ohio on 25 July 1942.

The airplane was hit by flak over the target. Just after bombing the target, the airplane began to lag in the rear of the formation. It also began to lose altitude.
When the pilot realized that he would never be able to reach England, he gave the bail-out order. When four airmen jumped, it was observed that the B-24 was over water, so it was decided to ditch. The landing failed, and five men drowned.

It crash-landed in the IJsselmeer at a location that is now Flevoland. At the time of the crash, this island didn't exist and was still open water.

Only one of the ten crew members survived the crash.

In 1975, while draining this part of the IJsselmeer, the wreckage was found, still containing the remains of five crew members: F/O Kent F. Miller, 2nd Lt Frank A. Passavant, T/Sgt James C. Childers, S/Sgt Stanley Pilch Jr. and 1st Lt Donald E. Shaffer.

The remains of four other crew members were washed ashore or picked up from open sea at various times during the six months following the crash.

S/Sgt Stanley Pilch is now buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, beside another crew member, 2nd Lt Frank A. Passavant.