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| Rudolph Marko flew P-47 Thunderbolts for the 368th Fighter Group. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39496405/rudolph-l.-marko |
Rudolph L. Marko never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 1, 1919 in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents Joseph and Julia were both born in Hungary. His father died in 1933. Rudolph had one brother who survived to adulthood who served in the war and returned home. Prior to the war Rudolph worked for H W Hecker Company.
He enlisted in the army on April 6, 1942. He volunteered for the Army Air Forces and scored high enough in basic flight school to be trained as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot. He became a first lieutenant in the 397th Fighter Squadron, 368th Fighter Group. It was sent to England in January 1944.
The 368th FG was charged with straffing and bombing targets in support of the Allied Normandy invasion. After the successful landing, the P-47s flew missions to stop the Germans from supplying their frontline troops. During his time as a pilot, Lt. Marko was award the Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross (citation unfound).
On August 1, 1944 Lt. Marko was flying his P-47, nicknamed Julia, low over Saint-Saver-Calvados when his plane was either shot down or it clipped a tree. It crashed, killing Lt. Marko.
His grave is at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. During the summer of 2018, the village of Saint-Saver-Calvados dedicated a plaque honoring Lt. Marko. They were not able to find a family member to attend.
J.D. SALINGER
Born on the same day as Rudolph Marko was J. D. Salinger. Salinger was born in New York. He started writing stories as a boy and many of them were published. He felt himself destined for literary achievement when the war started. Salinger was drafted into the army. He served in the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. He landed on Utah Beach on D-Day and was in action in Normandy, the Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge.
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| http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jd-salinger-film-outtake-the-influence-of-world-war-ii-on-salingers-writing/2827/ |
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 pilot Hubert Chamness. You can read about Hubert here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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