Pyka James Matthew

Monuments

The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan

Name:

James Matthew Pyka

Rank:

Flight Officer

Serial Number:

T-137530

Unit:

2nd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

Date of Death:

1945-06-19

State:

Texas

Cemetery:

Manila American Cemetery, Taguig, Philippines

Plot:

Walls of the Missing

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Purple Heart

Comments:

James Matthew Pyka was born on January 28, 1922 in Gillespie County, Texas. He was the son of Valentine Blasius Pyka and Theresa Helen Knopp Pyka. He completed his flight training in November, 1944 at Lubbock, and went overseas to the China-India-Burma theatre in June, 1945. He was pilot of a B-25 Reconnaissance plane. He was declared "Missing in Action" on June 19, 1945 and is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph located in Saint Mary Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas. F/O Pyka was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.