Adolph Simac was born at Saint Louis City, Missouri on July 8, 1925. His parents were Nikola Simac (10 Nov 1898 – 26 Aug 1935), who immigrated to the United States from Serbia in July 1921; and Anna Simac (1905 – Aug 1993), who was born in the former Yugoslavia. He had a brother, Rudolph Simac (abt 1926 – unk); and a sister, Anna Simac (abt 1927 – unk).

He completed four years of high school and was enrolled at Parks Air College in East Saint Louis, Illinois, when he registered for the draft at Saint Louis, Missouri on July 8, 1943. He was 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 160 pounds, and had blue eyes and brown hair. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on November 17, 1943. His home of record was 1431 Salisbury Street, Saint Louis City, Missouri.

He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as tail gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Joseph M. Sugarman Jr. The Sugarman crew completed B-17 operational training in the States (probably at Avon Park, Florida), and deployed to England. They were assigned to the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. They arrived at Station 137 by February 13, 1945, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

On March 11, 1945, the 487th Bomb Group dispatched forty aircraft to bomb an industrial area and shipyards on the south bank of the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany. This was the fifth combat mission for the Sugarman crew.

Sgt Simac and eight of his crewmates were killed in action on March 11, 1945, when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38888, was shot down by flak at Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft crashed at 1310 hours near Meckelfeld, about 20 kilometers south of Hamburg. One man, radio operator T/Sgt Harvey F. Schlotte, survived and became a prisoner of war. The dead were buried initially at the cemetery in Sinstorf, a southern suburb of Hamburg.

After the war, his remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium. Missing Air Crew Report 12979 identifies him as both Edward A. Simac and Adolph Simac. However, his World War II draft registration, his enlistment record, the American Battle Monuments Commission database, and his grave marker all list him as Adolph Simac.

B-17G 43-38888 crew:
• Sugarman Jr, Joseph M – 1/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Crosland Jr, William S – F/O – Copilot – KIA
• Barnett, James S – F/O – Navigator – KIA
• Owen, Charles V – Sgt – Togglier – KIA
• Stanton, Willard W – S/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Schlotte, Harvey F – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – POW
• Mau, Eldon A – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Yaegle, Clyde L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Berger, Robert M – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Simac, Edward A – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com