Chester H. Koneful

Chester Henry Koneful was born December 6, 1918, to Wojchieh and Rosa Lee Bojarski Koneful. He was the second of seven children, coming after brother Thaddeus and before sisters Veronica, Helen, Genevieve, Sophia, and Annie. By 1935 the family was living at 1225 Chase Street in Camden, New Jersey.

Chester Koneful attended Cooper B. Hatch Junior High School and Woodrow Wilson High School, where he lettered in football and track. After graduating from high school in January of 1938, he went to work at Campbell Soup in Camden. He had moved to Fourth Avenue in Glendora by July of 1942.

Chester Koneful was inducted into the United States Army, as was his brother, and qualified for aerial duty. He trained as a radio operator and also trained in aerial gunnery. When he went overseas it was as a waist gunner-radio operator in the 596th Bomber Squadron, 397th Bombardment Group, which flew Martin B-26 Marauder bombers. The Group’s original overseas base was in England. The unit moved to France in September of 1944. Technical Sergeant Chester H. Koneful flew 40 missions, mostly over Germany. The 397th Bombardment Group were known as the “Bridge Busters,” attacking mostly bridges, ammunition dumps, and railroads over Germany.

After his service he married Cecelia Vickers and went back to work at Campbell Soup. By 1949 the Konefuls had moved to Glendora, New Jersey. Chester Koneful later moved to Maysville, West Virginia, where he lived the rest of his life on 40-plus scenic acres of land. He died peacefully at home December 20, 2018. He is buried in the Maysville Cemetery in Maysville.