Paul Zima was born on 1 February 1920 in Chicago, Illinois—the middle child of Paul and Marie Kurtz Zima Senior. Paul’s brother Raymond was three years older, and his sister Doris was about three years younger. At the time of Paul’s birth, the family was living in a rented apartment in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood, an area located on west side of the city and north of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Paul Senior was working as a foreman at a factory.

By the time Paul was 10, his family had purchased a home in the Gage Park neighborhood of Chicago. This area was more to the south about two and a half miles east of where Midway Airport is today. Paul and his siblings were attending local schools; their father had changed professions and was working as a finisher of furniture. A few years later Paul entered the Lindblom Technical High School and participated in sports including baseball, track, and basketball. He graduated in the summer of 1937.

The summer Paul was 21 he registered for the draft on 1 July 1941. His draft card notes he was 5 feet 10 ½ inches tall weighing 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He also had an “appendix scar” most likely from having his appendix removed when he was younger. At the time of his registration, Paul was married and working as a die caster in Heich’s Mold Shop at 4061 W. Schubert. Based on the age of their oldest daughter, Paul and his wife, Anna Roberts, possibly married in late 1940 and lived with Paul’s parents.

On 8 April 1942 Paul Zima enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Chicago. His second daughter was born five months later. While details of his first two years of service were not discovered, the 100th Bomb Group website notes he along with his crew members joined on 26 May 1944, and were assigned B-17G #43-37591. While it was customary for each plane to receive a nickname and be adorned by customized nose art, their plane had not yet been operation long enough to earn a name. The group tail code was “Square-D”.

The 100th Bomb Group was based at Thorpe Abbotts (Station 139) located 4 miles east of Diss, Norfolk, England. It was under USAAF control from June 1943 until the end of the war. The 100th was known as the “Bloody Hundredth” due the reputation concerning their high casualty rates.

The airfield was classified as a “Class A” standard due to the included structures. There were three intersecting concrete runways and a perimeter track. Type T2 aircraft hangers were also constructed near the runways. The Control Tower today houses the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum.

The crew’s first mission was flown on 4 June 1944 and consisted of bombing shore defenses and railway bridges in support of D-Day. Their second mission was conducted on the next day 5 June 1944. Their assignment was a tactical mission to Abbeville; they were last seen three miles south of Boulogne.

At least two different observations of the plane’s fate were reported. The first stated that the plane was hit by ground fire and tried to make it back to England and crashed off the coast of France. The second stated that there was a mid-air collision between B-17G #43-37591 and another B-17 #42-107095 nicknamed “Little Bit.” One of the surviving POWs from Little Bits stated that 43-37591 was hit by ground fire and lost control which caused it to veer into their wingman “Little Bit” and both crashed into the English Channel. The official location was listed as Boulogne, Normandy, France.

Nine of the crew from 43-37591 were killed in the crash including 24-year-old Technical Sergeant Paul Zima who was serving as the radio operator. Only Waist Gunner: SGT Richard Joseph Sawaya (39295751) was able to bail out of the plane and was captured and held as a prisoner of war until the end of hostilities.

Three of the Little Bit crew were killed during the crash. They were the Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Donald J. Roth (O-818756), Navigator 1st Lt John T. Johnston (O-691762), and the Bombardier Lt Ralph A Kroenke (O-688708). The rest were taken captive by the German Army and were POWs until the end of the war.

Technical Sergeant Paul Zima was buried at a temporary grave site then eventually interred in the Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France, American Battle Monuments Commission Cemetery Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine. His burial location is Grave 7, Row 12, Block F. His death was mourned by his wife Anna, his parents Paul and Marie Zima, and possibly three children. Paul was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Air Medal, American Campaign Medal, WW2 Victory Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

Thank you, Technical SGT Paul Zima of the US Army Air Corps, for your sacrifice and service to our country.

B-17G #43-37591 Crew:

Pilot: FO Charles L. Peterson, T-061159, Florida

Co- Pilot: 2nd Lt James D. Keeffe, O-817459, Georgia

Navigator: 2nd Lt Elmer H. Vishion, O-709454, Missouri

Bombardier: 1st Lt James F. Jones, O-734350m North Carolina

Radio Operator: T SGT Paul Zima, Jr., 16077736, Illinois

Ball Turret Gun: SGT James Lenord Heller, 13060215, Pennsylvania

Top Turret Gun: T SGT Carl James Phillips, 38399628, Los Angeles

Waist Gunner: SGT Richard Joseph Sawaya, 39295751, San Diego^

Tail Gunner: SSGT Corwin E. Alspach, 39854329, Arizona

^ denotes Prisoner of War

TARGET: Abbeville

DATE: 1944-06-05

AIRCRAFT: (43-37591)

CAUSE: Collided with 107095 “Little Bit”

B-17 42-107095 “Little Bit” Crew:

Pilot: 1st Lt Mark Victor Wilson, Jr., O-746498m Colorado^

Co- Pilot: 2nd Lt Donald J. Roth, O-818756, Oklahoma

Navigator: 1st Lt John T. Johnston, O-691762, New York

Bombardier: Lt Ralph A Kroenke , O-688708, Wisconsin

Radio Operator: S SGT Eugene V. Sweeney, Jr. 12190208, New York^

Ball Turret Gun: S SGT Donald M. Rohasek, 16149982, Michigan^

Top Turret Gun: T SGT John W McAuliffe, 32280729, New York^

Waist Gunner: S SGT William Earl Moreland, 39021180, California^

Waist Gunner: S SGT Glover Nall , 34326204, Kentucky^

Tail Gunner: S SGT Cecil Gene Davis, 39555544, California^

^ denotes Prisoner of War

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