World War II Honoree

Sidney Gitlin

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Honored By

Gitlin-Jutkowitz Families

Technical Sergeant. Served 1942-1945. Enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age 18 after Pearl Harbor attack. Trained as radio operator gunner for bomber aircraft, B-17 Flying Fortresses in Florida; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Kingman, Arizona; Dyersburg, Tennessee; and Lincoln, Nebraska. Assigned to 15th Air Force, 5th Bombardment Wing, 301st Heavy Bomb Group, 32nd Squadron. Shipped out to Naples, Italy. Quartered on airfields around Foggia, in southern Italy. Also served in 742nd Heavy Bomb Squadron. Flew both day and night missions on B-17 aircraft as radio operator and waist gunner across northern Italy, southern, and central Europe. Missions over Odertal and Blechhammer, Germany targeting industrial complexes and train yards. Provided air support for the Battle of the Bulge, Destroying German ground forces. Participated in 15th Air Forces' longest bombing raid: Berlin, Germany March 24, 1945, targeting the Daimler-Benz tank assembly plant. THE 32nd Squadron received two Presidential unit citations for actions and heavy losses.