Barney Xavier Slamkowski was born in 1919 in Indiana. He resided in Lake County, Indiana prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on August 16, 1940, prior to the war, at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in the building of aircraft and also as Single, without dependents. Barney served as a First Lieutenant and Pilot on C-46 #41-24660, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-46 #41-24660 took off from Sookerating, Burma on a mission to Yunnanyi, China. They were shot down by a Japanese aircraft. It is unknown where they crashed on January 18, 1944. Barney was declared "Missing In Action" when his C-46 did not arrive at their destination. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until January 16, 1946. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

1Lt Slamkowski was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov