Henry Alfred Popiolek
Staff Sergeant Henry Alfred Popiolek, 446th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Forces
Staff Sergeant Henry Alfred Popiolek was born in Camden NJ on October 28th, 1920 to Joseph and Rozalia Popiolek, of 1282 Morton Street, Camden NJ. He attended St. Joseph School and Camden Vocational School. He later lived at 1205 Lansdowne Avenue in Camden. He worked for the Campbell Soup Factory in Camden NJ.
Henry Popiolek entered the Army in September of 1942. Qualifying for flight duty, he trained as a tail-gunner, and served with a bomber squadron flying the B-24 bomber. He shipped out to a base in England in May of 1943. On May 23rd, 1944, while on his 48th mission, the 446th raided the airfields at Orleans, France. The airfield was bombed with good results. One plane, “Wee Willie” (42-7583), was lost when it appeared the bombs were dropped through the closed bomb-bay doors. A piece of the damaged door struck and damaged the plane’s tail, causing a spin from which the pilot could not recover. Henry Popiolek and the other 9 members of his crew were killed.
Henry Popiolek was survived by his parents, a brother, Seaman Second Class Benjamin Popiolek USN, and a sister, Mrs. Adele Baus, of Camden NJ. A Mass was held for him at St. Joseph’s Church in Camden on September 16, 1944. His death was reported in the September 15, 1944 edition of the Camden Courier-Post.
After the war Henry Popiolek was brought home to New Jersey, and he rests in St. Joseph Cemetery on Lower Landing Road in Blackwood, Gloucester Township NJ, next to his parents, and a sister, Dorothy Popiolek, who had preceded him in death.
Henry Alfred Popiolek memorial, St. Joseph Cemetery, Blackwood, NJ
B-24 “Wee Willie” (Bureau Number 42-7583)
3 From So. Jersey Listed as Missing
Camden Courier-Post —
Nine Other Soldiers From This Area Reported Wounded
Three South Jersey soldiers are listed as missing, while a Camden flier with three brothers in the armed forces is among nine men from this area reported wounded by the War Department.
Missing:
Staff Sgt. Henry A. Popiolek, 1205 Lansdowne avenue.
Staff Sgt. Donald E. Ellis, 408 White Horse pike, Audubon.
Tech. Sgt. John C. Hargrove, 308 Madison street, Riverside.
Wounded:
Myrtle Frank Norris, of 422 Cedar street.
Popiolek, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Popiolek, was reported missing in action since May 23. A tail gunner on a Flying Fortress, his plane failed to return after a mission over France.
He entered the Army Air Forces in September, 1942, and has been overseas since last August. The holder of a Good Conduct Medal and the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Popiolek worked at the Campbell Soup Co. prior to entering service.