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Tech. Sgt. Harold Kretzer at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL, prior to deploying. On August 1, 1943; a smalltown southern Illinoisian, 32-year-old Tech. Sgt. Harold Kretzer, was fighting in the skies over Ploiești, Romania, to starve the Nazi war machine of the fuel it needed to continue to terrorize the world.
The “Wing Dinger” B-24 Liberator, would not return to the Allied airfields near Benghazi, Libya, that day. Kretzer was declared missing in action. The U.S. Army Air Forces Airman was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. He was one of 225 Airmen lost along with 51 B-24 Liberators during Operation Tidal Wave. Kretzer was among those whose remains could not be identified and he was buried as an “unknown” first in Romania and then after the war ended he was transferred to an American cemetery in Belgium.
On June 2, Kretzer of Odin, Illinois, will be MIA no longer. At 1 p.m. at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois, he will be interred among his brethren from many different wars and conflicts. Tech. Sgt. Kretzer will be home. (Photo courtesy of the Kretzer family.)
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2023 10:39 |
| Photo ID: | 7812274 |
| VIRIN: | 230523-A-OH563-371 |
| Resolution: | 1262x1852 |
| Size: | 372.13 KB |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, WORLD WAR II AIRMAN RETURNS HOME TO ILLINOIS AFTER 80 YEARS [Image 3 of 3], by LTC Bradford Leighton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
WORLD WAR II AIRMAN RETURNS HOME TO ILLINOIS AFTER 80 YEARS
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