August M. “Juny” Olsen, Jr. was born at Lansing, Cook County, Illinois, on February 5, 1919. His given name was August Michael Olsen, but he went by August Olsen Jr or 'Juny' Olsen. He was the oldest of seven children of August Oleszak Olsen (18 Feb 1896 – 27 Dec 1970), who was born at Jersey City, New Jersey; and Esther Alvina Marie (Fiene) Olsen (2 Jun 1897 – 28 Dec 1970), who was born at Chicago Heights, Cook County, Illinois; she was previously married to Michael Radke on May 22, 1916. August and Esther Olsen married at Crown Point, Lake County, Indiana, on July 24, 1918. They lived at Lansing, Illinois, where the family home was at 2235 Thornton Road. His father was a brick maker who worked for National Brick Company in Lansing, Illinois, and later for Tuthill Brick Company in Chicago, Illinois.
August Olsen Jr graduated from Trinity Lutheran School at Lansing, Illinois in 1932; and from Thornton Fractional High School at Calumet City, Illinois in 1936. He completed at least one year of college, and worked at Hammond Brass Works in Hammond, Lake County, Indiana when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on January 14, 1941. He enjoyed baseball, and was a member of his church baseball team. He also enjoyed bowling, and met his future wife, Marcella Crist, at the 20th Century Bowling Alley in Hammond, Indiana. His home of record was 21 Clinton Street, Hammond, Lake County, Indiana, his wife's wartime address.
He served initially in the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas. He and Marcella married at El Paso, Texas on June 21, 1941. Later he transferred to the Army Air Corps and completed Army Air Forces radio operator and aerial gunnery training. He was then assigned as radio operator on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Robert G. Reeder in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. The Reeder crew completed B-24 combat crew training with the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. Reeder's copilot, 2/Lt Floyd Schwab, was moved to the first pilot position, and 2/Lt Norman C. Van Kirk was assigned as the crew's copilot at Herington, Kansas, the first stop during the overseas deployment. They flew B-24H 42-52624 overseas via the southern Atlantic ferry route and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
On June 7, 1944, Lt Schwab's crew flew B-24H 42-52624 'BoxCar' on the 487th Bomb Group mission to bomb a tactical target at Angers, France, in support of the Normandy Invasion. Clouds obscured the target and the Lead Squadron bombed an alternate target, the Loire River bridge at Montjean, France, about 20 miles west of Angers. The Schwab crew flew in the High Squadron and bombed a railroad marshalling yard at Chateaubriant, France, about 50 miles northwest of Angers. T/Sgt Olsen and six of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was shot down by flak near Rennes, France on the return from the mission. The aircraft broke up and crashed at La Rabine, just west of Bruz, France. Three men survived and became prisoners of war.
The dead were buried at the civilian cemetery in Bruz, France. After the war, T/Sgt Olsen's remains were reinterred at Brittany American Cemetery in Saint-James, France.
The Breton Air Memorial Association and the Lacy-Davis Foundation dedicated a monument to the Floyd Schwab crew on June 9, 2012 in Bruz, France.
B-24H 42-52624 crew:
• Schwab, Floyd – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Van Kirk, Norman C – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Swiridow, Louis – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Smith, Cecil J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Olsen, August M Jr – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Gross, Billy D – T/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• Marxmiller, Robert K – S/Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Siegel, Melvin – S/Sgt – Tail Turret – POW
• Coe, Seymour – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Walker, Clarence E – S/Sgt – Upper Turret – KIA
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov