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Personal info

Full name
PASK, Charles E Jr
Date of birth
24 September 1923
Age
21
Place of birth
Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana
Hometown
Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Military service

Service number
O-821766
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
37th Fighter Squadron,
14th Fighter Group
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
12 March 1945
Place of death
Feistritzgraben, Austria

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Plot Row Grave
K 25 16

Immediate family

Members
Charles E. Pask (father)
Ruth J. (Gumper) Pask (mother)
Joan L. Pask (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
44-24428
Data
Type: P-38L
Destination: Knittelfeld, Austria
Mission: Strafing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 13004

More information

1st Lt Charles E. Pask graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1942 and attended Purdue University.

He joined the Army in Lafayette, Indiana on 14 December 1942.

2nd Lt James E. Jolley:
"On March 12, 1945, Blue leader Lt Pask and myself were returning from valley strafing to the marshaling yards four or five miles south of the airfield. We were headed in an easterly direction, and as we were diving on the yards from an altitude of six thousand feet, Blue leader spotted a locomotive with two flak cars. Blue leader located them for me, and then he pulled up to avoid them, going a little farther east, he turned from an altitude of four thousand feet, making a pass at the airplanes on the southern extremity of the airfield. This pass was from east to west. We encountered small arms and machine gun fire. Upon completing my pass, I saw Blue leader's right engine on fire. I called him to see if he was aware of the fire. He replied, 'I know, I know.' I was still behind him as he feathered his right engine. The fire was subsiding, and flames from the turbo were the only ones visible. I started weaving above him as he turned down a valley to the south and west of the airfield. I crossed over twice, noting that the right prop was completely feathered. On my second crossover, I saw his left engine burst into flame. A few seconds later, the airplane rolled to the left and into trees on the ridge of the valley. Upon striking the trees, the ship exploded and burned. I did not see any parachute either in the air or on the ground. I circled, climbing to gain altitude for a transmission to Red leader Maj McIntere to whom I reported the accident."

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com – Dwane G. Mikelson, www.archives.gov
– WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / 1940 Census / Indiana Birth Certificates, www.fold3.com
Photo source: www.wwiimemorial.com – Dwane G. Mikelson, Laura S., Cleveland Heights High School 1942, Purdue University 1943