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| Flight Officer Michael Kinick served with the 35th Fighter Group in the South Pacific. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97907321/michael-j-kinick http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/306 |
Michael J. Kinick never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 3, 1919 in Miller Farm, Pennsylvania. His parents Michael and Sofia were both born in Slovakia. They came to America in 1900. His father, who was a coal miner, died of influenza before Mike was born. Mike had two older brothers and an older sister. At some point he married Marie Hough.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in October 1942. He received his wings in March 24, trained to fly P-47 Thunderbolts. He became a flight officer in the 40th Fighter Squadron, 35th Fighter Group, 13th Air Force, which was active in the South Pacific. His unit supported MacArthur's advance from New Guinea to the Philippines.
While in the Dutch East Indies, he was reported missing in action in his hometown paper on January 25, 1945. By May his family learned that he had been killed in action on December 15, 1944. I was not able to find the details.
His grave is at Saint John Byzantine Cemetery in Hopwood, Pennsylvania. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero and B-17 gunner Archibald Mathis. You can read about Archibald and one of the most gripping stories of WW2 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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