STEPHEN VICTOLIS BIEZIS

2nd Lieutenant, US Army Air Force

Service # O-824081

Stephen Biezis was born on 21 Mar 1923 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He was the only son of, Ona or Anna Rudauskas (1898-1989) and Dr. Stephonas Biezis (1889-1973), who emigrated from Kaunas, Lithuania (Russia), arriving in the US in 1909. On 7 Jul 1916, Stephonas became a naturalized American; he was trained as a physician and surgeon. The next year, he registered for the WWI draft as a single doctor. Around 1922, on 29 October, he and Ona married and settled on Maplewood Ave in Chicago where he had his own practice and a son, Stephen, in 1923. A daughter, Yolanda was born a decade later in 1933. In 1940 Dr. Biezis became a physician examiner for city, winning by just 24 votes.

The younger Stephen attended local schools in the city and was graduated from St. Rita of Cascia High School in 1941. On 26 Jun 1942, he registered for the WWII draft, for which his father also registered that year. Stephen was 19 and attending the Morgan Park Junior College. He was described as over six feet tall, 140 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. A scant three months later, on 5 Nov 1942, Stephen V. Biezis may have enlisted in the US Army Air Corps with the number # 16136624 – discrepancies on the form include his birth year and birth place.

Stephen Biezis was sent to aviation schools to be trained to fly the B-24 Liberator bombers. By Dec 1944 he had received his wings and a commission to 2nd Lieutenant. Part of the 9th Air Force, he was assigned to the 575th Bomber Squadron, 391st Bomber Group stationed at Matching Green Airfield, Matching, England. From there they were able to reach targets on the enemy controlled Europe. On 23 Dec 1944, Stephen was the co-pilot on “Silver Dollar,” a B-26C bomber, #42-107671 when it left Station A-73 in France on a bombing run to attack a railroad viaduct at Ahrweiler, Germany; their eighth mission together. Shortly after dropping their load, the formation was attacked by between 50–75 enemy aircraft, swarming in waves of 10 to 15 planes at a time. About 30 miles south of the target, near Kirchweiler, Germany, #42-107671 was badly hit by flak, its left engine caught on fire and right engine feathered. Flames erupted in the bomb bay, prompting the crew to abandon the aircraft. Although 6 parachutes were seen leaving the aircraft, the bombardier, 2nd Lt John Adair, was the only survivor.

2nd Lt Stephen Victolis Biezis, age 21, was one of the casualties. A witness’s description from the Missing Air Crew Report reported that a man “who resembled Lt. Biezis very closely even to his very peculiar way of walking,” was interned at an infantry concentration campus. It was his belief that Lt Biezis was disposed of by S.S. Troops, the Hitler Youth or German civilians. His sacrifice earned him a Purple Heart, in addition to the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Stephen was declared missing in action until 24 Dec 1945, a year and a day later. He was memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. 2nd Lt Stephen Biezis was survived by his mother; by his father who passed away in 1946 and by his sister, Yolanda, who died in 2014. None of them lived to see his remains returned home for burial as described in the entries above. He and another Chicagoan, S/Sgt Ward C. Swalwell, shot down over Belgium were returned and re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery on the same week.

Airmen Aboard #42-107671 Who Perished on 23 Dec 1944:

Pilot, 2nd Lt James F. Galtin, Jr, O-685331 (FL); Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt Stephen V. Biezis, O-824081 (IL); Flight Engineer, Cpl. Joe R. Sanchez, 39290993 (CA); Right Gunner, S/Sgt William L. Weissker, 14070304 (LA); Aerial Gunner, Sgt Milton E. Cowert, 18190494 (TX).

“This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project – see www.storiesbehindthestars.org – a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Together we Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of the WWII fallen.”

SOURCES

1930 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com

1940 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com

Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) - Sun, Apr 8, 1973 - Page 1-0 – Newspapers.com

Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) - Sun, Aug 15, 2015 - Page 1-1 – Newspapers.com

Cook County, IL, Marriage Indexes, 1914-1942 – Ancestry.com

https://www.391bombgroup.org.uk/crew_list.php?sq=575&individual=2

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-107671

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150736771/stephen-victolis-biezis

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56279467/stephen-v-biezis

Jaunimas (Chicago, IL) - Sun, Jun 30, 1940 - Page 1 – Newspapers.com

Missing Air Crew Report # 11661 – Fold3.com

U.S., American Battle Monuments Commission, 1914-1950 – Fold3.com

U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957 – Ancestry.com

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 – Ancestry.com

U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 – Ancestry.com

SBTS/Illinois/Cook

Stephen V Biezis