William John Yanzek, of Dayton, Ohio, was born in 1911. He served in the 533rd Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomb Group, as a Sergeant and Left Waist Gunner on the B-17 #42-97454 during World War II.

On March 16, 1944, the crew took off at 07h00 from Station 167 in Ridgewell, England, for a bombing mission to Augsburg, Germany. At 02:20 PM, their plane was shot down by flak, and all crew members bailed out. All members survived the crash, but the navigator was killed when his chute did not open. Then all survivors were captured and taken as prisoners except for Sgt Yanzek. He was one of the 152 allied airmen and soldiers who were helped and hidden in the Freteval Forest camp by the French Resistance to evade German capture.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net