World War II Honoree

Levi F. Groce, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Forsyth County, North Carolina

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: 2ND LIEUTENANT. SERVED AS A B-17 ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ BOMBER BOMBARDIER ASSIGNED TO THE 350TH BOMB SQUADRON, 100TH ‘BLOODY HUNDREDTH’ BOMB GROUP, 13TH BOMB WING, U.S. 8TH AIR FORCE ‘MIGHTY EIGHTH’. HIS UNIT WAS BASED AT THORPE ABBOTS ROYAL AIR FORCE STATION IN ENGLAND, UNITED STATES ARMY AIRFIELD STATION #139. KILLED IN ACTION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 DURING A BOMBING RAID ON THE RUHLAND SYNTHETIC OIL REFINERY, RUHLAND-SCHWARZHEIDE, GERMANY. HIS FLYING FORTRESS WAS SHOT DOWN WHEN IT WAS ATTACKED BY A LARGE FORMATION OF GERMAN FIGHTERS AND CRASHED IN THE VICINITY OF SCHMIEDEBERG, GERMANY. THERE WERE 9 CREWMEN ON BOARD, 5 PERISHED IN THE DISASTER AND THE OTHER 4 WERE CAPTURED AFTER BAILING OUT. THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND GERMAN AIR FORCES, LATER KNOWN AS ‘BLACK MONDAY’ TOOK PLACE AROUND MIDDAY. IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST AIR BATTLES FOUGHT OVER THE ORE MOUNTAINS IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. HE WAS INTERRED IN A BATTLEFIELD CEMETERY AND AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN EUROPE, HIS REMAINS WERE RETURNED TO HIS FAMILY, FOR BURIAL IN THE FORSYTH MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY, WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA. ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1994, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘BLACK MONDAY’, THE CITIZENS OF KOVARSKA, CZECH REPUBLIC UNVEILED AND DEDICATED A MEMORIAL, HONORING THE AIRMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THAT GREAT AIR BATTLE.