World War II Honoree

Domenick D'Adamo

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Richmond, Virginia

Honored By

James E. Triesler

Relationship

Friend

Enlisted March 17, 1942 in the Army Air Corps. Served as a bombardier on the B-24 bomber "Tondelao," in the 389th Bomb Group of the Mighty 8th Air Force. This was followed by service in B-17 bombers with the 482nd Bomb Group, the pioneering radar-equipped Pathfinders. Credited with 22 combat missions, including a mission to bomb the railroad yards north of Rome, where flak knocked out an engine; a mission to bomb the submarine pens at Vegesack, Germany, where flak shattered two planes of Plexiglas just six inches from his position; and a difficult raid on Berlin where the flak was enormous. On August 1, 1943, he flew in the first wave of Operation Tidal Wave, the famous mission to bomb the Ploesti Oil Fields, where they flew just 250 feet off the ground. Captain D'Adamo received the Distinguished Fly Cross; the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Nine Battle Stars; and the Distinguished Unit Badge with One Oak Leaf Cluster.