Second Lieutenant Nicholas G. MacKoul 0-556083

Second Lieutenant Nicholas G. MacKoul O-556083 US Army Air Corps. He was Born in 1919.Lieutenant MacKoul joined the Army in November, 1942, trained at Santa Ana and Lemoore Army Air Fields in California, and received his wings at Williams Field, Arizona. He served in the 723rd Bomber Squadron, 450th Bomber Group, Heavy, 15th Air Force in Italy. He Served as the Co-pilot on B-24G "Maiden America" 42-78356. On December 25, 1944 after bombing the West Marshalling Yards in Innsbruck, Austria. The plane was heavily damaged by flak during the mission and damaged by the Swiss AAA gunners forcing the crew to bail out. The pilot and CO Pilot, remained with the aircraft to guide it away from the village of Wuerenlingem Switzerland. Lieutenant MacKoul, Lieutenant Homistek, and Sergeant Coulson were killed during the bail-out and crash. Lieutenant MacKoul was Killed in Action on December 25, 1944, at the age of 25. This Mission was his fifty-second mission. For his achievements, Lieutenant MacKoul was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the European-African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon (ETO) with five Battle Stars, the Purple Heart Medal (PHM), and the Presidential Unit Citation for his part in the bombing of the Ploesti Oil Fields.

Second Lieutenant Nicholas G. MacKoul O-556083 US Army Air Corps. He was Born in 1919 in Worcester County Massachusetts. He worked for theNorton Company Worcester, Massachusetts. Lieutenant MacKoul joined the Army in November, 1942, trained at Santa Ana and Lemoore Army Air Fields in California, and received his wings at Williams Field, Arizona. He served in the 723rd Bomber Squadron, 450th Bomber Group, Heavy, 15th Air Force in Italy. He Served as the Co-pilot on B-24G “Maiden America” aircraft number 42-78356. On December 25, 1944 after bombing the West Marshalling Yards in Innsbruck, Austria. The plane was heavily damaged by flak during the raid against a supply depot in Innsbruck, Austria, The “Maiden America” was severely damaged after being hit by flak over the target. With two engines on fire the pilot 1st Lt. Vincent F. Fagan tried to reach the airport in Basel, Switzerland a neutral country to try and land their aircraft. The damaged aircraft was fired on by the Swiss Anti-Aircraft gunners from the 89th flak detachment of the Swiss Army, forcing the crew to bail out. The pilot Lt. Fagan, and Co-pilot Lieutenant MacKoul were unable the lower the landing gear and was afraid of shooting flares because gasoline was leaking out of the damaged tanks. After the B-24 got a direct hit, pilot Fagan ordered the crew to bail out. Then Fagan and MacKoul increased the power of the two remaining engines. Doing so, they insured that the aircraft would not crash into the village of Wuerenlingem Switzerland. The left waist gunner Sergeant Ralph L. Coulson didn’t leave his position. The Navigator 2nd Lt. Martin A. Homistek’s parachute got caught by one of the horizontal stabilators. These 2 men died in the crash. Lieutenant Nicholas G. MacKoul parachuted out of the aircraft and came down on the nearby “Aare” river and drowned in the ice cold water. Lieutenant MacKoul was Killed in Action on December 25, 1944, at the age of 25. This Mission was his fifty-second mission. The rest of the crew landed safely. In 1965 at the crash site a memorial for the crash and its crew was built. For his achievements, Lieutenant MacKoul was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the European-African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with five Battle Stars, the Purple Heart Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation for his part in the bombing of the Ploesti Oil Fields.

 

 

 


The crew of B-24G "Maiden America"  42-78356 On December 25, 1944, were



2nd Lt Nicholas MacKoul - Co-pilot (0-556083) Massachusetts _KIA Drown when he came down in a nearby river.
2nd Lt Martin A. Homistek - Navigator (0-2069022) Pennsylvania _KIA  Was killed when his chute got caught on the horizontal stabilizer.
Sgt. Ralph L. Coulson - Left Waist Gunner (37519787) Kansas _KIA - Refused to leave his position and died in the crash.
1st Lt Vincent F. Fagan - Pilot (0-699402) Webster Groves, Missouri INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 




T/Sgt. James L. Estes - Engineer/Top Turret Gunner (33648879) Virginia INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 




T/Sgt. Vernon P Leitch - Radio Operator (33738498) Maryland INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 




Sgt Claud W Hunt - Right Waist Gunner (37370142) Clarksburg, Missouri INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 




S/Sgt Thomas B. Owen - Nose Turret Gunner (18067700) California INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 
S/Sgt Herbert R. Spencer, Jr. - Tail Gunner (12181351) New Jersey INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND 


Norton Company Worcester, Massachusetts Book