Nicholas P. Stampolis.

1st Lt. Nicholas P. Stampolis was born on 9 May 1921 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, one of four children of Peter Panagiotis Stampolis and Chrysanthe (Chrysoula) Mechalas, Greek immigrants who came to the United States from Chania, Crete in 1913. The family settled first in Joliet, Illinois, where his siblings Stella and Anthony were born, before moving to Kalamazoo. Sources differ on birth order: one account describes Nicholas as the second son and youngest child, behind an older brother, Anthony, and two older sisters, Corinne and Stella, while another source on file describes him as the family's first male child; this has not been resolved.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 22 January 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, having completed one year of college at Western Michigan College of Education, where he studied engineering and completed the Civilian Pilot Training Program; at the time of his enlistment he was working as an actor. He trained at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, and received his pilot's wings on 9 October 1942 in Lubbock, Texas. By February 1943 he was stationed in Tucson, Arizona, with the Goodman-Freeman Provisional training group, and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant on 15 March 1943.

In May 1943 he left for overseas duty, initially stationed in England, before deploying to North Africa in June 1943 and joining the 93rd Bomb Group's 409th Bombardment Squadron.

1st Lt. Stampolis served as pilot of B-24D 42-40617 ('Jose Carioca') on the 93rd Bomb Group's mission to Ploesti on 1 August 1943. The 93rd Bombardment Group certificate confirmed him missing over target on that date, signed by Maj. Henri Z. Lake, Intelligence Officer. His aircraft had to return to base early on the mission to have a leaking fuel cap tightened, then relaunched and regained its place in formation before being lost.

His aircraft received a direct flak hit in the bomb bay at approximately 1400 hours while flying at extremely low altitude over Ploesti. The plane crashed and exploded in the center of the city with no crew members observed bailing out; only 5 of the 10 crew were recovered. He was reported as a battle casualty. His father, Peter Stampolis, resided at 230 East Vine Street, Columbus, Michigan.

One account (greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com), corroborated by Together We Served, credits Stampolis and his crew with seven prior combat sorties in Jose Carioca and, once, in Teggie Ann during July 1943 -- against Messina (7/5), an unnamed target (7/7), Vibo Valentia (7/10 and 7/13), Foggia (7/15), Naples (7/17), and Rome (7/19) -- ahead of the fatal Ploesti raid on 1 August, his eighth combat mission. This conflicts with another source (Find A Grave) describing Ploesti as the crew's first combat mission; the discrepancy is unresolved and combat mission count is left unset pending further research.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart, and is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery. He was survived by both parents, his sisters Corinne Stampolis Hirakis and Stella Stampolis, his brother Anthony, and his brother-in-law, Constantine Hirakis.