Personnel

CREW

 

     Crew #31           418th Sqdn. M.A.C.R. #1028



Mission:Munster Aircraft #42-30725

Date: 10 Oct.1943

Time: 1500/1530 "AW-R-GO"

A/C last seen: Munster

Cause:EAC



Crew aboard: Charles B.Cruikshank Capt.     P POW

 Glenn E.Graham 1st Lt.   CP POW

 Frank D.Murphy Capt.     NAV POW

 August H.Gaspar 1st Lt   . BOM POW

 Orlando E.Vincenti T/Sgt ROG KIA

 Leonard R.Weeks T/Sgt.    TTE POW

 Robert L.Bixler S/Sgt.    BTG POW

 James M.Johnson S/Sgt  .  WG POW

 Donald B.Garrison S/Sgt.    WG POW

 Charles A.Clark Sgt.  TG KIA



Crew on 21st mission. Weeks said that Vincenti bailed out of bomb-bay with chute afire. Had been fighting fire in radio room.



Garrison saw both James Johnson & Robert Bixler wounded and in waist of plane. Plane blew up and Garrison blown out. Ship had dropped bombs on target.



Weeks said; "Germans said Vincenti's chute had burned in the descent and that he was dead before hitting the ground. Bixler said Germans had shown him Vincenti's dog tags and told him that he was dead."



Johnson said he was blown out of ship and his chute opened at about 5,000 ft.



Clark couldn't seem to get his escape hatch open and was probably killed when plane blow up.



Fighter attack caused fire in ship.



German Records show :Sgt. Charles A. Clark interred on 11 )ct 1943 at Lienen Cemetary/Wesph. Northwestern

third of cemetary, southern grave.



   O.E.Vincenti northern grave



(probably entirely burnt since Id tsg was found burnt,too.) Mrs.Agnes Clark 603 Laurel Ave. Highland Park,Ill.

Scranton Times-Tribune



 

LOCAL NEWS

Local WWII aviator honored, among World War II’s “Bloody Hundredth”



Author

By GERALDINE GIBBONS | ggibbons@scrantontimes.com | The Times-Tribune

PUBLISHED: August 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT



Army Air Forces veteran Orlando Edward Vincenti, with deep roots in Lackawanna County, was among the casualties of the 100th Bombardment Group, a unit of the U.S. Army Air Corps that gained the grim nickname “Bloody Hundredth” for its staggering losses over Europe during 1943.



Now he is being honored by “Stories Behind the Stars,” a nonprofit organization committed to preserving the legacy of America’s World War II fallen.



Vincenti, who moved to Carbondale from Italy with his family as a baby, was killed in action on October 10, 1943, after completing a bombing mission over Munster, Germany, when his B-17 was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery and fighter planes.



While evacuating the doomed bomber, Vincenti’s parachute caught fire and he fell to his death.



Eight other crew were captured and became prisoners of war.



According to an article published in The Scranton Times announcing the return of Vicenti’s remains to the area in 1949, “He fought the flames with every means at his disposal until the plane exploded.



His family was informed of his death in November of 1943, after he was originally listed as missing.



Vincenti was born April 16, 1920, in Sasso, Italy to Enrico and Rosa Vincenti. Rosa Vincenti was widowed and moved to the United States with Vincenti and his older brother in 1921.



Vincenti attended Carbondale schools and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School. He also attended Scranton-Lackawanna College for one year. When Vincenti registered for the draft in July 1941, he was working for North West Coal Company.



On March 20, 1942, he entered the U.S. Army Air Forces in Wilkes-Barre. He then attended radio school and completed aerial gunnery training.



Vincenti was assigned as a technical sergeant to one of the initial crews of the 418th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, which flew B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.



His squadron was activated on June 1, 1942, assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho, and moved to Walla Walla Army Air Base in Washington for training.



At the time of his death, Vincenti completed 20 combat missions.



Vincenti was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross and two citations for heroism. One of the citations was for bravery on his last combat mission.



A citation presented to Vincenti’s mother in 1946 read, in part, “With utter disregard for personal safety, Sgt. Vincenti fought the flames with every means at his disposal until the plane exploded, carrying him to his death. Sgt. Vincenti’s courageous devotion to duty reflects the highest credit upon himself and Army Air Forces.”



Service inspired by love for country



Charlie Spano, 9/11 Memorial Committee of Lackawanna County, is grateful for people and organizations seeking to keep the memories of military veterans and actions alive.



“I would imagine he was inspired along with millions of other young American men to stand up for this country, to stand up for freedom against tyranny and enlist in the armed forces so he could fight,” he said of Vincenti. “It is of course tragic that he lost his life in combat. But it is worthwhile noting that he is another one of our heroes we must remember.”



Spano said telling stories like Vincenti’s brings history to the next generation.



“That’s a critical component of remember a man like Mr. Vincenti,” he said. “Telling his story of his life and his early death brings the whole issue to life,” he said. “The sacrifice, family loss to the forefront of the minds of the younger generation.”



Spano said the Stories Behind the Star project and others like it brings World War II history to the next generation.