World War II Honoree

Victor L. Hamrick

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Webster Springs, West Virginia

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Staff Sergeant. Inducted into the United States Army February 12, 1942 with induction at Fort Hayes Columbus, Ohio. Upon his graduation from recruit training, he was designated to attend the Flight Aviation Training Program. He served as a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber Waist Gunner, assigned to the 401st Bomber Squadron, 91st Bomber Group, an element of the U.S. 8th Air Force ‘Mighty Eighth’ Army Air Forces. His unit was based at the Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Station Location: Cambridgeshire, England. Saturday, April 17, 1943 he was reported missing in action, when his ‘Flying-Fortress’ was hit by anti-aircraft ground flak, crashing into the North Sea. His squadron was dispatched to assist in a raid to Bremen, Germany. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Location: Margraten, Netherlands. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Air Medal and the Purple Heart. The Air Medal was awarded to the Sergeant for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight, and the Purple Heart for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.