Frank J. Brunk, World War II CasualtyPorter County Data on World War II Casualties . . . .
Frank J. Brunk
Staff Sergeant, 17th Squadron, 71st Reconnaissance Group, US Army Air Force
Date of Birth: March 16, 1923
Date of Death: June 8, 1944
Cause of Death: Killed in Action (bombing mission, New Guinea)
Date of Enlistment: October 30, 1942
Monument: Fort William McKinley, Manila, The Philippines
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Hometown: Chesterton
Newspaper Notices:
Frank Brunk Dies In Action
CHESTERTON, Ind. June 26 -- Mr. and Mrs. Claude Brunk, of Chesterton, received
word this morning in a wire from the War Department that their son, Staff
Sergeant Frank Brunk, 20, was killed in action June 8 while on duty in the New
Guinea area.
Sgt. Brunk was a radio operator on a reconnaissance plane, and had been overseas
about three months. He was home on furlough the last time earlier this year
before leaving for duty overseas.
A graduate of Chesterton high school, he was a veteran of two years' service in
the U. S. Army Air Corps. He had received his first training at Scott Field,
Illinois.
The youth is survived by his parents and a sister, Barbara.
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Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; June
26, 1944; Volume 17, Page 1, Column 5
Mr. and Mrs. Claude Brunk, of Chesterton, have received a Distinguished Flying
Cross awarded posthumously to their son, S/Sgt. Frank Brunk, of the U. S. Army
Air Corps. Sgt. Brunk died of wounds received on June 8, 1944, when a B-24
bomber of which he was an aerial gunner was shot down during an attack on a
heavy Japanese cruiser in the New Guinea area. Some time ago the parents
received a Purple Heart which was awarded to Sgt. Brunk.
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Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; March
29, 1945; Volume 18, Page 2, Column 5, and Page 6, Column 1
HONOR HEROIC SON
In memory of the supreme sacrific made by the late Frank Brunk, a painting has
been presented to the local high school by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Claude
Brunk. It is an excellent copy of "Coast of Monterey" by Wood, 24x36 inches, and
will hang in the school library.
Staff Sgt. Frank Brunk gave his life for his country in the southwest Pacific in
the New Guinea area while on a reconnaissance or bombing mission June 8, 1944.
He was a radio operator and gunner of a bomber crew, enlisting in the air corps
in October, 1942. He was a graduate of the high school in 1941 and was born
March 16, 1923.
The picture was formally accepted at a convocation this afternoon.
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Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana;
February 28, 1947; Volume 20, Number 201, Page 3, Column 4
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List of
Porter County World War II Casualties
Information abstracted and transcribed by Steven R. Shook