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| Connie Vogel flew p-51 Mustangs for the 357th Fighter Group. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60886455/konstantin-j.-vogel http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/140906 http://www.8thafhs-pa.org/stories/fighter-group-gallery/1763-2/ |
Konstantin "Connie" V. Vogel never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 4, 1919 in Nebraska. His parents Henry and Anna were both born in German speaking Russia. They immigrated to America in 1912. His father worked as a grocer and later as a farmer. Connie had two older sisters, four older brothers, four younger sisters and two younger brothers. By 1940 Connie had completed four years of high school. He was still living with his parents and worked as a laborer.
He volunteered for the Army Air Forces in June 1942. Although most pilots had some college education, Connie had the skills to not just qualify as a pilot, but as a fighter pilot. He became a second lieutenant in the 362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force which was originally equipped with P-39 Airacobras that were replaced by P-51 Mustangs when it started flying tactical air support missions out of England in early 1944. This same unit also had a pilot by the name of Chuck Yeager, who became an ace and later as a test pilot was the first to break the sound barrier.
By February the 357th FG was transferred to the 8th Air Force where the long range flying abilities of the P-51 could be used to escort bombers on missions deep into Germany. Its first missions to Germany was during "Big Week" where the Allies focused on six straight days of missions over Germany bombing aircraft related targets and drawing out Luftwaffe pilots to dogfight.
On March 18, 1944 Lt. Vogel was on an escort and support mission to Augsburg, Germany when his plane was shot down by FW-190s. He was able to bail out, but his chute did not open. His body was found by locals and buried in a cemetery near Uttenweiller, Germany. His remains were returned home after the war. Surprising, the remains of his plane were not discovered until October 1993.
His grave is at Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont, Colorado.
Last year on this date I profiled Woodrow Gravenor, 35th Infantry Division. You can read about Woodrow 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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