Andrew Lacy
Photo courtesy of Andrew Lacy
I was born in Elyria, OH April 30, 1921. The younger of two boys born of immigrant Hungarian parents who had immigrated to this country in 1911. I was attending Ashland College, OH when I enlisted as an aviation cadet in Jan. 1943. Graduated from pilot training Class 44B, Feb. 1944. Shipped overseas in Jul, 1944, transitioned into P-51s at Goxhill, England. Assigned to the 334th Sdn. 4th FG September 18, 1944. Flew almost 50 missions over Europe and had about one month to go to complete my tour of duty (250 hours at that time).
On Feb. 21, 1945 I was Blue Flight Leader in the squadron escorting bombers on a mission to Nuremberg. After returning the bombers back to the bomb line we returned to Germany seeking targets of opportunity. The squadron leader dispatched my flight to investigate a train sighted in the woods west of Nuremberg. While strafing I experienced a hit in the vicinity of my coolant and oil radiator. I was able to gain some altitude and fly on a westerly heading for about 10 minutes before the aircraft began to burn.
After my successful bailout and subsequent capture by the Germans, they transported me to the site of my aircraft crash wreckage. There was nothing left but a large black hole in the ground with the tail section the only part of the aircraft visible above ground. You could still read the serial number of the aircraft on the vertical tail.
I spent the remaining 3 months of the war in 4 different German POW camps being liberated on April 29, 1945 at Moosburg, Germany.
I continued my military flying in the Ohio Air National Guard retiring in 1977 as a Colonel and commander of the 178 Tactical Fighter Group, Ohio ANG, flying F-100s. I flew 3 combat missions in South Vietnam in 1970 to complete my military combat flying.
I claimed 1 Me-109 damaged December, 1944