World War II Honoree

George H. Prater

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Alabama

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: 2ND LIEUTENANT. SERVED AS A B-17 ‘FLYING FORTRESS’ BOMBER NAVIGATOR 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. ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 HE WAS SHOT DOWN DURING A BOMBING RAID ON THE RUHLAND SYNTHETIC OIL REFINERY, RUHLAND-SCHWARZHEIDE, GERMANY. HIS FLYING FORTRESS WENT DOWN WHEN IT WAS ATTACKED BY A LARGE FORMATION OF GERMAN FIGHTERS AND CRASHED INTO A FORESTED HILL IN THE VICINITY OF KOVARSKA, CZECH REPUBLIC. THERE WERE 9 CREWMEN ON BOARD, 6 PERISHED IN THE DISASTER AND THE OTHER 3 PARACHUTED TO SAFETY. THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND GERMAN AIR FORCES, LATER KNOWN AS ‘BLACK MONDAY’ TOOK PLACE AROUND MIDDAY AND WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST AIR BATTLES FOUGHT OVER THE ORE MOUNTAINS IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. AFTER BAILING OUT OF THE CRIPPLED BOMBER, HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES AND HELD IN CAPTIVITY AT THE GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR CAMP STALAG 4F WORK CAMPS, HARTMANNSDORF-CHEMNITZ SAXONY. HE WAS REPATRIATED AND RETURNED TO MILITARY CONTROL AFTER THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER. ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1994, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘BLACK MONDAY’, THE CITIZENS OF KOVARSKA UNVEILED AND DEDICATED A MEMORIAL, HONORING THE AIRMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THAT GREAT AIR BATTLE.