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Casimir S. Wieczorek

Casimir Stanislaus Wieczorek

Platoon Sergeant Casimir S. Wieczorek served with a Marine detachment aboard the USS Birmingham (CL-62).
He was blown overboard by a Japanese bomb in Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, on 8 November 1943.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Regular (Sea Duty)
Service Number 267472

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

Due to circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.

History

Personal Summary

Casimir Wieczorek was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 19 May 1920. He was the son of Polish immigrants Vincent and Elizabeth (Kacperska) Wieczorek, and was the fifth of seven children. Little else is known about his life before the war.

Service Details

Casimir enlisted in the Marine Corps from Cincinnati on 1 September 1938, at the age of eighteen. After completing boot camp at Parris Island, the young private was selected for Sea School; he displayed some musical talent, was rated a field music, and in January 1939 joined the first crew of the brand-new cruiser USS Wichita (CL-45).

 

As a “plank owner” aboard the Wichita, Wieczorek earned his sea legs on Atlantic neutrality patrols in 1939 and 1940. In 1941, he was transferred ashore to the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a post bugler. He would remain here through the start of World War II, and by the end of 1942 held the rank of Field Music Sergeant.

 

In January 1943, Wieczorek joined another new construction – the USS Birmingham (CL-62). He traded his bugle for an anti-aircraft battery and served both as a gunnery instructor and maintenance chief of the ship’s 20mm guns.

 

The Birmingham sailed to the Mediterranean to provide fire support for the invasion of Sciliy, then transferred to the Pacific for raids on Wake Island and Tarawa in the early fall of 1943. By early November, she was in the Solomon Islands as part of a task force covering the invasion of Bougainville.

Loss And Burial

Over the afternoon of 8 November 1943, the Birmingham’s radar operators reported thirteen “bogey” contacts near the task force. Shortly before sundown, a Japanese bomber buzzed into visual range and circled the ships before retreating into the darkness. An aerial attack was plainly evident and the ships were on high alert.

 

Platoon Sergeant Wieczorek was at his battle station near the 20mm guns when, at 1917 hours, a Japanese “Val” dive bomber was spotted “very low and very close on the starboard quarter, coming in from the clouds.” The 20mm gunners opened fire and downed the attacker, but not before he dropped a bomb that hit the Birmingham’s stern, setting the hangar on fire and spraying the decks with shrapnel.

 

Several more hits followed, but this bomb caused most of Birmingham’s 33 casualties. Remarkably, only one man was killed. Casimir Wieczorek was blown overboard by the blast, and disappeared into the dark water of Empress Augusta Bay.

Decorations

Purple Heart

For wounds resulting in his death in action, 8 November 1943.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of Mr. Vincent Wieczorek, 3119 East 68th Street, Cleveland.

Location Of Loss

The Birmingham was off Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, when attacked.

Gallery

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