Donald Richard Huck was born at Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana on July 19, 1924. He was one of at least five children of Harry Milton Huck (7 Nov 1879 – 14 Jan 1970), who was born at Chicago, Illinois; and Ethel Elizabeth (Stedman) Huck (1 Mar 1888 – 5 Jun 1965), who was born at Pipestone, Pipestone County, Minnesota. His parents married at Edmunds County, South Dakota in 1910. By 1918 the family lived at Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana. In 1940 the family lived at 120 4th Ave E, Kalispell, Montana, and his father worked as an insurance agent. One of his brothers, Robert Emerson Huck (26 Feb 1923 – 13 Mar 1961), served as an enlisted man in the 971st Signal Service Company during World War II.
He completed one year of college at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. He registered for the draft at Missoula on December 12, 1942. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighed 142 pounds, and had hazel eyes and black hair. At that time he lived with his parents at 526 Ford Street, Missoula, Montana. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Seattle, Washington, on July 20, 1943.
He completed Army Air Forces radio operator and aerial gunnery training, and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Lt Kenneth W. Lang. The Lang crew completed B-17 operational training at Alexandria Army Air Base, Louisiana, and was assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. They arrived at Station 137 by October 31, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
On December 24, 1944, the 8th Air Force launched mission #760, the largest aerial mission of the war, which involved more than 2000 heavy bombers. The mission was to bomb German airfields and supply lines, to stop the German offensive in the Ardennes known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 487th Bomb Group led the entire 8th Air Force on this mission. Lt Lang's crew flew B-17G 44-8192 in the number eleven position of the 487th Bomb Group's Low Squadron. The Group's target was the airfield at Babenhausen, Germany, but the formation was attacked south of Liege, Belgium, before the Allied fighter cover arrived. German fighters shot down six of thirteen aircraft in the Low Squadron, including B-17G 44-8192. Sgt Huck and three of his crewmates were killed in action. Lt Lang and copilot Lt Miller were probably killed by enemy gunfire on the flight deck. Sgt Huck and waist gunner Sgt Kausrud were probably killed by enemy gunfire at their positions in the waist. Sgt Yowan was wounded by enemy gunfire in the ball turret, but he was able to exit the turret and bail out of the burning aircraft along with four others. The survivors landed in friendly territory and were recovered by American forces. The aircraft crashed near Louveigne, Belgium.
After the war, Sgt Huck's remains were returned to the United States and reinterred at C. E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell, Montana.
B-17G 44-8192 crew:
• Lang, Kenneth W – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Miller, Howard R – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Alvine Jr, Samuel – F/O – Navigator – Safe
• Lang, George F – 2/Lt – Bombardier – Safe
• Weber, James A – S/Sgt – Engineer – Safe
• Huck, Donald R – Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Yowan, Robert G – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – Safe
• Kausrud, Donald C – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Haskett, Charles W – Sgt – Tail Gunner – Safe
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com