Colonel Francis S. Gabreski

Colonel Francis S. Gabreski (HM296K)

Location: Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Horry County
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Country: United States of America
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N 33° 39.758', W 78° 56.389'

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Inscription
Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski was born and raised in Oil City, Pennsylvania, joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, and graduated from pilot training as a Second Lieutenant in March 1941. He was serving in Hawaii during the "Day of Infamy," December 7, 1941.

In October 1942, Captain Gabreski (fluent in Polish) was assigned to the European Theater Operation as a liaison to the British Royal Air Force's Polish 315th Fighter Squadron flying combat missions in their Supermarine Spitfire Mark IXs.

In February 1943, he joined the 56th Fighter Group "Wolfpack" commanded by Colonel Hub Zemke flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. During his tour with the Wolfpack, Lieutenant Colonel Grabreski destroyed 28 enemy aircraft in aerial combat (surpassing Captain Eddie Rickenbacher's record of 26 enemy aircraft destroyed during World War II) and numerous others on the ground.

In July 1944, he crashed in enemy territory and was a prisoner of war until the war's end. Colonel Gabreski also served in a combat role during the Korean War, commanding the 51st Fighter Wing F-86 Sabres and destroying 6.5 enemy aircraft.
Details
HM NumberHM296K
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, July 9th, 2018 at 10:01am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17S E 691018 N 3726654
Decimal Degrees33.66263333, -78.93981667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 33° 39.758', W 78° 56.389'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds33° 39' 45.48" N, 78° 56' 23.34" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)803, 843
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 800 Gabreski Ln, Myrtle Beach SC 29577, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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