Alexander Wallace Markowski was born April 4, 1921 in Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York to Alexander Markowski and his wife Helen (Gutowskich) Markowski. The family could not be found in census records, although cemetery records show that his mother passed away in 1923 and his father in 1934. When he registered for the draft in February 1942, Alexander was living in Buffalo, Oneida County, New York and working for the Curtis-Wright Airplane Company.

Alexander enlisted in the US Army Air Forces on 1 October 1942 in Tonawanda, New York. His enlistment record indicates he was single and had completed three years of high school. After completing basic training, he attended aerial gunnery school and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant and assigned to the 418th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, which flew B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.

The 100th BG was activated 27 October 1942 at Gowen Field, Idaho then moved to Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington. After receiving crews and aircraft, the group relocated again on 30 November 1942 to Wendover Field, Utah, where it added additional personnel, aircraft, and crews, and began operational training. On 1 January 1943, the aircraft and aircrews moved to Sioux City AAB, Iowa where they assisted in training of other groups bound for overseas. In mid-April 1943, the aircrews moved to Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska and received brand new B-17s. After additional operational training, the group's aircrews departed Kearney on 25 May 1943, flying the North Atlantic route to England, where the group was based at Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. SSgt Markowski was a gunner in the crew of B-17F 42-30063, known as Picklepuss, and flew nine combat mission to bomb targets in France and Germany between 28 June and 12 August 1943.

On 17 August 1943, 21 aircraft from the 100th BG, including Picklepuss, along with 125 B-17s from six other groups, were tasked to bomb a Messerschmitt aircraft factory in Regensburg, Germany. The mission was part of a two-pronged attack against the factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany, with the Regensburg force landing at airfields in North Africa. To split the German fighter defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, however, fog delayed the Schweinfurt force’s takeoff but the Regensburg force departed on time. As a result, enemy fighters hit the first force, landed, rearmed, refueled, and then engaged the delayed second force.

Without fighter escort for much of the mission, the bombers in both forces faced wave after wave of Luftwaffe fighters. On the way to the target, Picklepuss was last seen leaving the formation near Frankfurt, Germany after being shot up by enemy fighters, and eventually crashed near Kelmis, Belgium. SSgt Markowski and five other crew members were killed, and four became prisoners of war. In addition to Picklepuss, eight other 100th BG aircraft failed to make it to North Africa. Although the raid caused heavy damage at both factories, 60 of the 376 bombers dispatched were shot down and more than 600 Airmen were killed, missing, or captured.

SSgt Alexander Wallace Markowski was initially buried in a local cemetery in Germany and after the war was reinterred in Saint Adalbert Cemetery in Rotterdam, Schenectady County, New York.

Thank you SSgt Markowski for your service and your sacrifice, you will not be forgotten.

Crew of 42-30063, “Picklepuss”

Pilot, Capt Robert M Knox (KIA)
Copilot, 2nd Lt John O Whitaker (KIA)
Navigator, 2nd Lt Ernest E Warsaw (POW)
Bombardier, 2nd Lt Edwin F Tobin (POW)
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer, SSgt G Barney (POW)
Radio Operator, TSgt Walter Paulsen (POW)
Ball Turret Gunner, SSgt Frank W Tychewicz (KIA)
Waist Gunner, SSgt Alexander Markowski (KIA)
Waist Gunner, SSgt Henry A Norton (KIA)
Tail Gunner, SSgt Joseph F Laspada (KIA)

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. SBTSProject/New York/Oneida.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at bob.al@storiesbehindthestars.org.

Sources:

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100th_Air_Refueling_Wing#World_War_II
100th Bomb Group Foundation, https://www.100thbg.com/
Missing Air Crew Reports, #677
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147605961/alexander-w-markowski