Rank and Name, Major Herman F. Antonini.
Unit/Placed in, Headquarters Squadron, Far East Air Service Command.
Herman is born approx. on June 4, 1915 in. Indiana.
Father, Fred Antonini.
Mother, Jennie Anthonini.
Brother(s), Edmund Antonini.
Herman enlisted the service in Illinois with service number # 0-351875.
The Gremlin Special was a Douglas C-47 Skytrain that crashed during a sightseeing flight for U.S. service members over the Baliem Valley (?Shangri-La Valley?) in New Guinea in 1945.
Herman ‘s Crew-members and their position on-board the plane a C-47 were,
Colonel Peter J Prossen Pilot
Major George H. Nicholson Co Pilot
S/Sgt. Hilliard Norris Engineer
Pfc. George B. Newcomer Radio Operator
Pfc. Melvin A. Mollberg Asst. Engineer
1st Lt. Robert E. McCollom Passenger
1st Lt. John S. McCollom Passenger Survived
Captain Lewis E. Freyman Passenger
Major Philip J. Dattilo Passenger
1st Lt. ???? J. Holding Passenger
Captain Herbert F. Good Passenger
Major Herman F. Antonini Passenger
T/Sgt. Kenneth W. Decker Passenger Survived
T/3. Marion W. McMonagle Passenger
S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley Passenger
Sgt. Belle G. Naimer Passenger
Sgt. Helen C. Kent Passenger
Pfc. Mary M. Landau Passenger
Pfc. Eleanor P. Hanna Passenger
Pfc. Marian C. Gillis Passenger
Pfc. Alethia M. Fair Passenger
Corp. Melvyn A. Weber Passenger
Corp. Margaret J. Hastings Passenger Survived
Corp. Charles L. Miller Passenger
Herman died when there was no more radio-contact and they crashed on a mountain on May 13, 1945, he is honored with a Good Conduct Medal, United States Aviator Badge, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.
Maj. Antonini is one of 18 servicemen and women killed in an aircraft crash in a remote part of Papua New Guiana on May 13, 1945. Initially buried in field graves near the crash site, their remains were not recovered by the War Department until more than a decade after the war. Once recovered and identified, all 18 were interred as a group burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis. Missouri. Their names are permanently engraved on the Walls of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery.
Herman is buried/mentioned at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines.
Walls of the missing.
And a Memorial Grave on the Website https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45700685/herman-f-antonini
Thanks to, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/c-47/42-23952.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_New_Guinea_Gremlin_Special_rescue
Jean Louis Vijgen, WW2-Pacific Website.
Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.
ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov
Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org
POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.
Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org
Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker
Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org
Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/
Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite
