Kempen, Sylvester

1918 - 1944  (25 years)    Has 36 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Kempen, Sylvester
  Born	31 Dec 1918
  Gender	Male
  Military Service	7 Jun 1944
  WWII,
  Died in WWII and is buried in France American glider pilots, along with airborne forces, spearheaded all the major invasions, landing behind enemy lines in their unarmed gliders in Sicily, Normandy, Southern France, Holland, Bastogne, Rhine Crossing, Luzon in the Philippines, and Burma. One veteran American glider pilot painted a vivid picture of the stark terror they experienced. "Imagine", he said, "flying a motorless, fabric-covered CG-4A glider, violently bouncing and jerking on a 11/16 inch thick nylon rope 350 feet back of the C-47 tow plane. You see the nervous glider infantrymen behind you, some vomiting, many in prayer, as you hedge-hop along at tree-top level instinctively jumping up in your seat every time you hear bullets and flak tearing through the glider. You try not to think about the explosives aboard. It's like flying a stick of dynamite through the gates of Hell." There were only about 6,000 American military glider pilots, all volunteers. They proudly wore the silver wings with the letter "G" superimposed on them. The brash, high-spirited pilots were not a bit bashful about letting everyone know that the "G" stood for "Guts".
  Died	7 Jun 1944	, , , France
  Person ID	I90236	1FamilyTree | PatrickKempen16182
  Last Modified	24 Aug 2017

  
  

  Father	Kempen, Wilbert A.,   b. 27 Mar 1890, Woodville, Calumet, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 26 Apr 1953  (Age 63 years)
  Mother	Schmit, Martha,   b. 22 Feb 1894, Ellington, Outagamie, Wisconsin, USA ,   d. 12 Jan 1971  (Age 76 years)
  Family ID	F29108	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Load the map	Died - 7 Jun 1944 - , , , France  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set