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| Lt. Francis Sidorek was a pilot in the 492nd Bombardment Group. He died in a crash after the war in Europe had ended. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152069996/francis-sidorek/photo The Wilkes Barre Record, 21 July 1948, pg 17 http://www.801492.org/Air%20Crew/B24sBySN/523%2044-49523%20Hey%20Ride/4449523-crash.pdf |
Francis Sidorek never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 24, 1919 in Pennsylvania. His parents John and Maryanna were both born in Poland when it was part of Russia. His father worked as a coal miner. Francis had five older brothers, five older sisters, and one younger brother. His father died in 1923 from cirrhosis of the liver. Five years later his mother died of a blood clot in the liver. Francis and the other minor children were then raised by his older brother Alfred. By 1940 Francis had completed four years of high school and was working as an airplane mechanic.
He volunteered for the Army Air Forces on February 5, 1943 and became a first lieutenant and pilot in the 858th Bombardment Squadron, 492nd Bombardment Group, 8th Airforce, which was equipped with B-24 Liberators. It was first in action in England in May 1944.
I don't know when Lt. Sidorek joined the 492nd BG or how many missions he flew. After the war ended, the 492nd BG transported servicemen and supplies from the European continent to England. On June 17, 1945 Lt. Sidorek was the pilot of the B-24L 44-49523 based out of Harrington with a crew of five other men. Five miles south, the plane experienced engine failure, went into a flat spin and crashed, killing all on board.
His grave is at St. Johns Cemetery in Dallas, Pennsylvania.
Last year on this date I profiled Charles Anderson who served with the 4th Infantry Division in the Hurtgen Forest. You can read about Charles 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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