in Memory of
S/Sgt. Peter P. Kosciuszek
Born August 5, 1919
Killed in Japan
July 4, 1944
When I first read this plaque at the intersection of Providence and Upsala Streets , I wondered how this man came to be in Japan in the first place. The usual practice for the Japanese was to hold their prisoners near the areas in which they were captured. They wouldn't normally transport them to Japan. I wondered if he were perhaps shot down over Japan.
What I found was that Peter Kosciuszek was assistant engineer (& gunner; apparently everyone was "& gunner" when the time came) of a B-24 Liberator nicknamed the Big Chief Cockeye. (I think this image of the nose art is in the public domain; if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know.) Unfortunately, I'm not at all sure that the memorial plaque is correct.
There is a fair amount of material available on the Big Chief, which crashed into a mountain on the Indonesian island of Ceram on July 5, 1944. Originally the entire crew was considered KFA - killed in a flying accident. Some sources available on line still list them all that way. It is, after all, what you would expect from a crash like that.
I found one source that states there was one survivor, the weather observer, who was captured and died in a POW camp before VJ day. That sounds all too plausible, and the story could have come from camp records or surviving prisoners. But on a website dedicated to Liberators I also found a claim that three crew members were captured and executed by the Japanese. The three were unnamed, and no source was given for the information. This doesn't strike me as likely. Taking them to Japan for execution is implausible, and if they were shot where they were found, who would know?
A few years after the war, Sgt. Kosciuszek was laid to rest at Honolulu Cemetary, but whether his remains were brought from Indonesia or somewhere else, I don't know. In the absence of any other information, I'm inclined to think he was killed in the crash, or just possibly, shot on Ceram. If anyone out there does have more information, please, let me know.
As a nephew of Peter Kosciuszek, I salute your efforts!
ReplyDeletePK
Nephew of Peter Kosciuszek. I'd like to talk with you about your Uncle if possible. Email me at airforceweathercasualties(at)yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteAccording to his cemetery control form, Peter Kosciuszek's body was brought to Hawaii from the Barrakpore Cemetery in India.
ReplyDeleteIf he was one of the three men shot by the Japanese, then it probably happened on Ceram Island. Author Gill (the Weather Observer) died in a Japanese POW camp nearly a year to the day after the aircraft was shot down or crashed.