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S/Sgt
Edward R. Kosmowski
Asst. Crew Chief |
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Then |
Ed
& Jean Kosmowski 2003 |
| Born:
12 April 1924 - Milwaukee, WI |
| Education: |
Grades
1-12 |
Milwaukee
Public Schools |
| Post
High School |
Tool
& Die Apprenticeship (3 yrs) |
| Martial
Status: |
Married
7 September 1946 to Jean Grimmer |
| Family
Status: |
Two
Daughters: |
Debra
Jean - Teacher, Married with two sons |
| Dr.
Kerry Ann - Professor, Married |
1 |
April,
1942 |
Accepted
into U.S. Army Air Force Cadet Program |
1 |
June
2, 1942 |
Sworn
into U.S. Army Force Cadets |
1 |
November
1942 |
Pre-flight
school - Santa Anna, CA |
1 |
|
Primary
Flight School - 29 Pams
Air Academy, CA-PT-17
(Washed out in Flight School) |
1 |
April,
1943 |
Staging
Center - Fresno, CA |
1 |
1943 |
Graduated
Mech School - Army Air Field, Amarillo, TX |
1 |
Graduate
of Engine School - Chanute Field, Rantoul, IL |
1 |
Graduate
of Central Fire Control School - Lowery School - Lowery
Field, Denver, CO. |
1 |
March
1944 |
Air
Crew, Pratt, KS |
1 |
1 |
73rd
Bomb Wing
497th Bomb Group
870th Bomb Squadron
MOS 1684 Right Blister Gunner |
1 |
1 |
Reassigned
with 10 other 1684 gunners to SHAAF - Salina, KS:
73rd Bomb Wing
497th Bomb Group
870th Bomb Squadron
MOS 1684 Right Blister Gunner |
1 |
April/May 1944 |
Flew
as Flight Crew Member, B-17 F's (no B-29's available at
the time) |
1 |
End
of May, 1944 |
By
order of General C. LeMay all Right Blister Gunners were
taken out of Air Crews because of their engine school
backgrounds and were assigned as ground school team members
with:
MOS: 747
314th Bomb Wing
39th Bomb Group (VH)
60th Squadron
Overseas assignment delayed until 1945 |
1 |
1944-1945 |
Assistant
Crew Chief - S/Sgt under Crew Chief M/Sgt John Danhof.
Crew P-8 Airplane Commander: Major
Leo Lewis
Based in Salina, KS, Havana Cuba, Guam and Iwo Jima |
1 |
December
1945 |
Discharged
- Camp McCoy, Sparta, WI |
Post
WWII:
I am retired Tool & Die Maker who worked for General
Motors just alittle over less than 41 years. I did alot
of tooling and die work that contributed to guidance
systems for the C-IV Carousel Systems, Titan Missle,
Thor Missle, Polaris Missle and automobile computers. |
Assistant
Crew Chief, Edward Kosmowski, recalls an incident that
occurred while he was flying as a passenger with an
aircrew back in Salina, Kansas: "We
were over Colorado on a triangular mission when the
CFC (top) blister blew out. It resembled a 20mm shell
exploding. Everything that was loose in the immediate
vicinity went out with it. With bail out bell sounding,
everyone scurried for their chutes and oxygen mask,
oxygen bottle and additional clothing. The pilot instantly
came on the intercom and instructed everyone to hang
loose and report the damage. We were then instructed
to hook up to bail-out bottles until he descended below
10,000 feet." |
Other
recollections are:
Guam Night Guard Duty - The time they assigned everyone
from Sgt down to pull guard duty at the planes. A jeep
with Major Miranda drove
up and I had him halt, get out and come forward to be
recognized. Let me tell you after it was over he was
one hot Major! I did it because I did not know if he
was testing me to see if I was doing my job!
The
time they flew the P-8 ground crew up to Iwo Jima to
repair the plane. We flew in a B-24 Liberator and on
landing we blew a tire. The last part of rolling to
a halt was not very smooth!
I
remember going along with John Danhof on the "Show
of Force" mission on a fly over Tokyo Bay and the
Battleship Missouri. I don't recall the crew as P-8
crew was in Hawaii on R & R. On the way back we
had to shut down one engine and feather the prop. Then
we made another stop on Iwo Jima.
I
also had the priviledge of talking to General Cutis
LeMay while on Guam. |
S/Sgt Edward R. Kosmowski, took his Final Flight on 27 September 2015 |
Ground
Crew Page
60th
Squadron Crew Index
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