Donald L. Bock

World War II

Donald Bock was born on August 1, 1923, near Raeville, NE to Cornelius and Mayme (Heithoff) Bock. Cornelius Bock had moved to Templeton with his family in 1900. Aside from a year in Texas, Cornelius lived in Templeton until his marriage to Mayme Heithoff in 1917. The couple then moved to Nebraska where Donald was born. The family farmed in Nebraska until 1939 when they moved to a farm south of Gildden.

Donald registered for the military draft in Omaha, NE on June 30, 1942. He indicated he was employed at the Martin bomber plant in what is now Offutt Air Force Base. He was inducted into the US Army on February 22, 1943, at Fort Crook, NE and assigned serial number 37474200. He was assigned to the US Army Air Corps at Fort Leavenworth, KS and sent to Miami Beach, FL for basic training. He attended several training schools in Colorado, Texas and Utah to become qualified as a B-24 Liberator crew member. His brother Vernon was killed in action in the Aleutian Islands on May 29, 1943.

By May 22, 1944, training was completed and Donald and his crew left the United States for Europe. Donald was trained as an engineer and tail turret gunner. After stops in Brazil and Africa, the crew arrived at San Pancrazio, Italy on June 6, 1944. He became part of the 513th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 376th Bombardment Group of the 15th Air Force. The primary mission of the 513th was attacks on various targets in the Balkans.

On August 10, 1944, Donald and his crew were aboard the B-24J Liberator #42-64373. Their mission that day was to attack the German oil complex at Ploesti, Romania. This was a notoriously well-defended target. During the attack, the aircraft was hit numerous times by anti-aircraft fire. On its return flight to Italy, the aircraft was off-course due to the damage inflicted over the target. As they flew over Berat, Albania, they were again hit by ground fire. A direct hit blew the tail assembly from the aircraft causing the plane to crash.

There were a total of ten crewmen on the plane. Four survived but the remaining six were killed including Donald. Two of the surviving crewmen found the tail section and Donald’s body about a mile from the rest of the aircraft. They were able to identify him and, with the help of a man from the village, bury him in the woods near a dried-up river bed close to Berat, Albania. His body has never been recovered. He was 21 years old at his death.

Donald was reported as missing in action and officially declared dead on June 17, 1945. A funeral was held at St. Paul Catholic Church in Scranton, IA on June 26, 1945. He received the Air Medal with two Oak Clusters and his service included shooting down two German planes (an Me-109 fighter and Ju-88 bomber) from his tail turret position.

Donald and his five deceased crewmates are listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the American Cemetery near Florence, Italy. There is also a military gravestone in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton. Cornelius and Mayme Bock retired to Templeton in the early 1950’s and lived the remainder of their lives here.