Teddy A. Yurkiewicz

Rank: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces

Serial: 32360692

Unit: 413th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy

Entered service from: New Jersey

Died: October 9, 1943

Burial: Missing in Action or Buried at Sea — Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England

Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart

Staff Sergeant Thaddeus Yurkiewicz was born in New Jersey in 1921, the son of Aloysius and Stella Yurkiewicz. Nicknamed “Yurkie,” he grew up and attended school in Camden NJ, at the St. Joseph Parochial School, and the Henry J. Bonsall School. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in June of 1940. Other members of his graduating class included Frank J. Blair, Tom Glennon, and Angelo DiCamillo. His induction records state that he worked as a machinist’s helper prior to his military service.

Teddy Yurkiewicz was drafted on August 26, 1942, and reported for active duty with the Army on September 8th, 1942. He qualified for flight duty. After attending Army schools in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Washington he was sent to England, where he was a gunner aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress. He and the crew that he trained with were assigned to the 413th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group (Heavy), based at Snetterton, England.

Staff Sergeant Yurkiewicz was reported missing in action on October 9th, 1943, the day which British-based American planes flew across Europe to bomb what is now Pomerania, East Prussia, and other war centers in Northeastern Germany. He was aboard a B-17F with serial number 42-30781. His squadron was on an operational mission to bomb what is now Gdynia, Poland. The plane was attacked by German fighters on the way back to England and went down over the North Sea. Although parachutes were seen as the plane went down, there were no survivors or bodies recovered. The crew members were as follows:

Pilot, 2nd Lt William Clarence Hunt Jr.
Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt Paul Edward Atkins
Navigator, 2nd Lt Roy Lee Schott
Bombardier, 2nd Lt Richard Grenville Villochi
Radio Operator, Sgt William Burbank Cheffin
Top Turret Gunner, T/Sgt Warren Harding Strack
Ball Turret Gunner, S/Sgt Robert Swart
Right Waist Gunner, S/Sgt Teddy Aloysius Yurkiewicz
Left Waist Gunner, S/Sgt Joseph Pierce
Tail Gunner, S/Sgt Charles Mass

Staff Sergeant Yurkiewicz’s death was reported in the October 25, 1943 edition of the Camden Courier-Post. He was survived by his parents, who moved after the war to West Palm Beach FL, and his sisters, Olga and Diana.

Staff Sergeant Yurkiewicz was known to the Army Air Force as Teddy A. Yurkiewicz. He is memorialized on the plaque at St. Joseph Church, 10th and Mechanic Streets in Camden, and on the monument at Park Drive and Route 130 in Pennsauken NJ as Theodore A. Jurkiewicz.