Steve Rudnyk.
Co-Pilot · 409th Squadron · Of Butler, PA.
The man.
Assigned to 409th Sqdn., 93rd Bomb Group. Initially flew some missions with the George Bridgeman crew, then transferred to Capt. Louis Novotny's crew. On Sept. 11, 1944 -- the lead ship on the Magdeburg raid and Novotny's crew's 25th mission -- their aircraft was shot down. Rudnyk jumped and was captured; held at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth on the Baltic for eight months before being liberated by the Russians in late April 1945.
Service record.
Before and after.
Born Aug. 31, 1922 in Butler, PA. Enlisted in Detroit, MI, October 1942, Aviation Class 44-B. Basic training at Miami Beach, FL (Haddon Hall). College training detachment at Danville, KY; Maxwell Field for aptitude tests. Primary pilot training at Decatur, AL (PT-17s) and Courtland, AL. Basic flight training (BT-13s) twin engine advanced at George Field, Lawrenceville, IL (AT-10s). B-24 flight school at Savannah, GA (Chatham Field). Assigned co-pilot on George Bridgeman's crew. Overwater navigation and gunnery at Batista Field, Havana, Cuba. R&R at Mitchell Field, NY, June 1944. Flew new B-24J to Iceland and Wales.
Released by the Russians late April 1945. Made his way across Germany on foot to Allied lines, then to Paris with Dave Miles and three others. Shipped home from Camp Lucky Strike on liberty ship The Jonathan Elmer. Arrived at Camp Kilmer, NJ; home to Detroit for R&R and V-J Day. Discharged Camp Kilmer, October 1945. Met and married Geraldine; moved to Arizona in 1949. Four children: Ted, Rich, Terry, and Patricia; five grandchildren. Owned bar 1950-1958; real estate broker 1957-1993.