According to a dispatch from the Eighth AAF in England, posthumous award of the
Distinguished Flying Cross will be made to First Lieutenant Warren O. Van Winkle,
Liberator pilot, who was reported killed in a raid over Germany on May 12. Lt. Van Winkle
was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Van Winkle of 646 East Passaic Avenue, Bloomfield,
and husband of the former Miss Lorraine M. Fischer of 34 Forest Avenue, Verona.
Ina addition to the Order of the Purple Heart which the Lieutenant's wife received a short
time ago, he held the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters before his death. Born in
Bloomfield, he would have been 23 June 18. He was graduated from Bloomfield High
School in 1939 and before going into the service was employed at National Newark &
Essex Banking Company. Lt. Van Winkle flew 25 missions after going overseas last
November.
He also leaves a daughter, Gail Marie, 3 months old, and a sister Carol Ann Van Winkle.
From the private collection of Mr Joseph Barry dated June 1944
Distinguished Flying Cross will be made to First Lieutenant Warren O. Van Winkle,
Liberator pilot, who was reported killed in a raid over Germany on May 12. Lt. Van Winkle
was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Van Winkle of 646 East Passaic Avenue, Bloomfield,
and husband of the former Miss Lorraine M. Fischer of 34 Forest Avenue, Verona.
Ina addition to the Order of the Purple Heart which the Lieutenant's wife received a short
time ago, he held the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters before his death. Born in
Bloomfield, he would have been 23 June 18. He was graduated from Bloomfield High
School in 1939 and before going into the service was employed at National Newark &
Essex Banking Company. Lt. Van Winkle flew 25 missions after going overseas last
November.
He also leaves a daughter, Gail Marie, 3 months old, and a sister Carol Ann Van Winkle.
From the private collection of Mr Joseph Barry dated June 1944
| D.F.C AND AIR MEDAL ARE GIVEN TO LOCAL HERO'S WIFE |
| Mother Cherishes Letter of Praise From General Arnold |
The Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters, awarded to Lt.
Warren C. Van Winkle, posthumously, were received by his wife at a presentation
ceremony held at Weequahic Park Officer's Club recently. The presentation for
"noteworthy achievement while participating in five separate bombing missions over
enemy territory" and for "heroism and extraordinary bravery while in combat flight," was
presented by Major Lonergan of the Army Air Forces.
Lt. Van Winkle, husband of the former miss Lorraine Fischer of 34 Forest Avenue, Verona,
and son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Van Winkle of 646 East Passaic Avenue, Bloomfield, was
killed in a raid over Germany on May 12 last year. He was a pilot on a B-24 Bomber. His
mother cherishes a letter from Brigadier General Arnold, Deputy Chief of the Army Air
Force Staff, extolling her son for bravery, courage and achievement while in combat.
The Lieutenant's daughter, whom he never saw, celebrated her first birthday on March 9 at
the home of her paternal grandparents.
Text and photo courtesy of the private collection from Mr. Joseph Barry, dated 1945
Warren C. Van Winkle, posthumously, were received by his wife at a presentation
ceremony held at Weequahic Park Officer's Club recently. The presentation for
"noteworthy achievement while participating in five separate bombing missions over
enemy territory" and for "heroism and extraordinary bravery while in combat flight," was
presented by Major Lonergan of the Army Air Forces.
Lt. Van Winkle, husband of the former miss Lorraine Fischer of 34 Forest Avenue, Verona,
and son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Van Winkle of 646 East Passaic Avenue, Bloomfield, was
killed in a raid over Germany on May 12 last year. He was a pilot on a B-24 Bomber. His
mother cherishes a letter from Brigadier General Arnold, Deputy Chief of the Army Air
Force Staff, extolling her son for bravery, courage and achievement while in combat.
The Lieutenant's daughter, whom he never saw, celebrated her first birthday on March 9 at
the home of her paternal grandparents.
Text and photo courtesy of the private collection from Mr. Joseph Barry, dated 1945
Author's Note: According to a childhood friend of Lt. Van Winkle, Mrs.
Doris Barry Reese, the circumstances of his death are as follows: Lt. Van
Winkle's plane was hit by enemy fire while on a bombing mission. Lt. Van
Winkle held the controls long enough for members of his crew to safely
jump out of the plane with parachutes. The plane then crashed, killing
him. Two members of his crew attended the ceremony described above at
the Weequahic Park Officer's Club and recounted the story to Lt. Van
Winkle's family.
Doris Barry Reese, the circumstances of his death are as follows: Lt. Van
Winkle's plane was hit by enemy fire while on a bombing mission. Lt. Van
Winkle held the controls long enough for members of his crew to safely
jump out of the plane with parachutes. The plane then crashed, killing
him. Two members of his crew attended the ceremony described above at
the Weequahic Park Officer's Club and recounted the story to Lt. Van
Winkle's family.
| The Following is an account of what happened on May 12, 1944 courtesy of Mr. Calvin Davidson, President of the 93rd Bomb Group Association: |
May 12, 1944: The Combined Chiefs ordered enemy oil assaulted by the entire Eighth
(Eighth Army Air Force, of which the 93rd Bomb Group was a part of). Each Wing (Bomb
Group) had an oil target. The Circus (Circus was the nickname of the 93rd Bomb
Group)effort was against the Bohlen synthetic works near Leipzig. The target had been
smacked minutes earlier by another Wing and the Circus found columns of smoke.
Unlike his low-level role at Ploesti, the 93rd's Lieutenant Colonel Clarence R. Porter, in a
pathfinder ship, led Wing bombing from five miles up. Twenty-four of 25 Circus ships
(B-24 Bombers) attacked with good results. Flak was intense around Leipzig and in the
target area. Most enemy fighters were twin-engine types, not too aggressive in the target
area; however, they blistered formation tail-enders making withdrawal. The oil plant
was well clobbered although some Circus bombs went awry.
Lieutenant Warren O. Van Winkle, pilot of a 409th (409th Bomb Squadron, of the 93rd
Bomb Group) ship, was crippled by flak over the target. From another ship, pilot Martin
Barkan reported Van Winkle was finished off at 1415 hours by fighters and seven
chutes were counted. The plane crashed near Craula, vicinity of Kangensalza. Van
Winkle perished; others survived. Injured George Pettey, a gunner, was rounded up later
some 10 kilometers away. The captured were taken to Dulag-Luft (German POW Camp).
MIA were: Lieutenants Van Winkle, Alfred W. Hodel (co-pilot), John A.. Radosevich
(navigator), and Jesse L. Flanigan of St. Louis (bombardier); Sergeants Leonard C. Drew
of Melrose, Mass. (engineer), Edward Little (radio operator), William L. Wert
(nose-gunner), Jacob L. Rasch and George C. Pettey (waist-gunners) and Theodore E.
Cunningham (tail-gunner). Later confirmed KIA was Van Winkle. Confirmed POWs were
Hodel, Radosevich, Flanigan, Drew, Little, Rasch. Cunningham, Wert, Pettey.
(Eighth Army Air Force, of which the 93rd Bomb Group was a part of). Each Wing (Bomb
Group) had an oil target. The Circus (Circus was the nickname of the 93rd Bomb
Group)effort was against the Bohlen synthetic works near Leipzig. The target had been
smacked minutes earlier by another Wing and the Circus found columns of smoke.
Unlike his low-level role at Ploesti, the 93rd's Lieutenant Colonel Clarence R. Porter, in a
pathfinder ship, led Wing bombing from five miles up. Twenty-four of 25 Circus ships
(B-24 Bombers) attacked with good results. Flak was intense around Leipzig and in the
target area. Most enemy fighters were twin-engine types, not too aggressive in the target
area; however, they blistered formation tail-enders making withdrawal. The oil plant
was well clobbered although some Circus bombs went awry.
Lieutenant Warren O. Van Winkle, pilot of a 409th (409th Bomb Squadron, of the 93rd
Bomb Group) ship, was crippled by flak over the target. From another ship, pilot Martin
Barkan reported Van Winkle was finished off at 1415 hours by fighters and seven
chutes were counted. The plane crashed near Craula, vicinity of Kangensalza. Van
Winkle perished; others survived. Injured George Pettey, a gunner, was rounded up later
some 10 kilometers away. The captured were taken to Dulag-Luft (German POW Camp).
MIA were: Lieutenants Van Winkle, Alfred W. Hodel (co-pilot), John A.. Radosevich
(navigator), and Jesse L. Flanigan of St. Louis (bombardier); Sergeants Leonard C. Drew
of Melrose, Mass. (engineer), Edward Little (radio operator), William L. Wert
(nose-gunner), Jacob L. Rasch and George C. Pettey (waist-gunners) and Theodore E.
Cunningham (tail-gunner). Later confirmed KIA was Van Winkle. Confirmed POWs were
Hodel, Radosevich, Flanigan, Drew, Little, Rasch. Cunningham, Wert, Pettey.
| Crew of the Marion B-24 Bomber (Standing left to right: Jacob Rasch, John Radosevic, Edward Little, Leonard Drew, Theodore Cunningham, William Wert) (Kneeling left to right: Warren Van Winkle, Thomas Atkinson, George Petty, David Yaus) Photo courtesy of Mr. Jacob L. Rasch |
| Lt. Warren Van Winkle Pinning the Air Medal on members of his crew (George Petty, Edward Little and Leonard Drew) The medals were supposed to be awarded by General James "Jimmy" Doolittle, Commander of the Eighth Air Force, but the crew would not attend the ceremony because Doolittle had raised the number of required combat missions from 25 to 30. Doolittle stated that the combat missions were getting easier, but, according to Jacob Rasch, They were getting harder and they were losing more crews. Photo courtesy of Mr. Jacob L. Rasch |
| Gravestone from Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield, NJ (Mount Vernon, Lot 47, Grave 3) |
| The goal of this project is to preserve the memory of these heroes and not let their stories be lost to history. Their sacrifices should be honored and their histories should be available to school children and adults to learn about the heroic Verona residents who came before them. It is vital that friends and family of these heroes be found, so that they may share pictures, service records, and other information to add to these stories. If you are a family member or friend of one of these heroes, or you know someone who is or may have additional information, please contact: Robert Caruso Heritage Preservation Associates Verona, New Jersey veronaheroes@heritagepreservation.us |
| This Website is maintained by Heritage Preservation Associates |
| Verona Hero |
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1st Lt. Warren O. Van Winkle
| Verona Residence: 34 Forest Avenue |
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Carol
Gemgnani, sister of Lt. Van Winkle
Gemgnani, sister of Lt. Van Winkle
