Slenker William O., Jr.

Monuments

B-17 42-31499 ‘Susan Ruth’ Air Crash Monument

Name:

William O., Jr. Slenker

Rank:

Staff Sergeant

Serial Number:

16101156

Unit:

369th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

2001-07-09

State:

Illinois

Cemetery:

Lakewood Park Cemetery, Affton, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

Plot:

Section 4

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

William O. Slenker Jr. was born on April 29, 1923, in Denver, Colorado. He enlisted in the service on August 25, 1942. He served in the 369th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and tail gunner of B17G " Susan Ruth" #42-31499 during World War II.

On a mission to Frankfurt, Slenker's plane was attacked and shot down by two Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf 190 fighters and crashed near Macquenoise, Belgium on February 8, 1944. SSgt. Slenker was wounded by flak, he evaded and was captured with the help of Marie-Louise Oget. He was evaded for seven months in the home of Madame Collet in Chimay, Belgium until liberated by US Troops. SSgt. Slenker died on July 9, 2001, and is now buried in the Lakewood Park Cemetery, Affton, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com