Correctionville Gunner on Bomber Reported Missing
Correctionville, Ia.—Special: Sergeant Virgil Lowell Stelck, 21, a wing gunner in the crew of a heavy bomber has been reported missing in action following a raid in the north African area on March 24, according to a telegram received from the War Department by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Stelck.
Sergeant Stelck enlisted in February, 1943, and went overseas on March 8, 1944. Mr. and Mrs. Stelck have two other sons in the service, Gerald W. Stelck, quartermaster second class with the Navy in the south Atlantic, and Private First Class William A. Stelck, with the marines in the south Pacific.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, April 17, 1944
VIRGIL STELCK KILLED IN ACTION
Correctionville Boy Dies in German Plane Raid
Correctionville, Ia.—Special: Sergeant Virgil Lowell Stelck, 21, a wing gunner in a heavy bomber crew, who was reported missing in action March 24, lost his life on a combat mission in the heart of Germany the morning of March 24, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Stelck, have been notified by the War Department.
Sergeant Stelck enlisted in February, 1943, and went overseas March 8, 1944. Mr. and Mrs. Stelck have two other sons in the service, Gerald W. Stelck, quartermaster second class in the Navy in the south Atlantic, and Private First Class William Arcell Stelck, with the marines in the south Pacific.
Memorial services will be held pending word received from relatives in California.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, July 5, 1944
Gerald Wilbur “Bill" Stelck was born Apr. 10, 1918 to William and Anne David Stelck. He died May 19, 1996 and is buried in Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery, Des Moines, IA.
Gerald served in World War II with the U.S. Navy.
Source: ancestry.com
