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| Lt. William Minerich was the pilot of the B-17 Tinker Toy. Photo of William Minerich provided by Kelly Grinsteinner and the Hibbing Historical Society from Hibbing Daily Tribune, June 29, 1946. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109658315/william-j-minerich http://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/1768 |
He was born on November 11, 1918 in Minnesota. His parents Vinko and Amelia were both born in Austria-Hungary. Having avoided one war by immigrating to America in 1907 (Vinko) and 1909 (Amelia) and with the War to End All Wars ending the fighting on the very day William was born, perhaps his parents thought William would live a long, peaceful life.
His father worked as an iron miner. William had three older sisters, a younger brother, and a younger sister. By 1940 William was still living at home, had completed one year of college, and was working as a clerk.
He volunteered for the Army Air Forces and became a first lieutenant and pilot in the 535th Bombardment Squadron, 381st Bombardment Group which was equipped with B-17s. The 381st BG arrived in England in May 1943.
The thirty-sixth mission for the 381st BG on October 8, 1943 was to bomb Bremen. The mission was successful, with the 381st BG earning its first Distinguished Unit Citation. The mission was not without casualties. One of those lost that day was Lt. Minerich. His plane, nicknamed Tinker Toy was hit by a burst of 20mm cannon fire that tore off the nose of the plane and, violently and instantly, killing Lt. Minerich. The copilot, Thomas Sellers, was wounded in the arm. Despite the major damage, the plane remained airworthy and Lt. Sellers was able to bring the rest of the crew safely back to base.
Tinker Toy was repaired and returned to service but met its demise on a December 20th, 1943 Bremen mission when a ME-109 collided head-on into the plane.
His grave is at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hibbing, Minnesota. This Veterans Day, let us especially remember this airman, born on the original day we recognize each year for honoring our veterans.
Last year on this date I profiled Jasper Nicely, 4th Infantry Division. You can read about Jasper Nicely 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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