Us Official Photographs

1st Lt Sulzbach Over Northern Italy

On 1 April 1945 1st Lt. Richard P. Sulzbach of 1706 Rebecca St., Sioux City, Iowa, led his formation down to strafe enemy vehicles on a road in northern Italy. The flight destroyed eight and damaged eight more vehicles. But the leader, intent on making a successful attack regardless of his own safety, could not pull his ship up before he was forced to fly through a clump of trees, picking up limbs, bark and leaves in the wings and fuselage of this Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt came home next day Lt. Sulzbach was out again, He shot down two enemy fighters an ME-109 and a FW-190 -- proving he can fly high too. Shown here Lt. Sulzbach looks unbelieving at the chewed up cowling of his craft. 346 FTR. SQ. 350 FTR. GP. 12TH AR PISA ITALY 1 APR 1945 HE WAS ALSO SHOT DOWN BETWEEN THE LINES NORTH OF BOLOGNA ON 20 APRIL 45 - FIRED ON BY GERMANS AFTER BELLY LANDING - BUT FIGHT STRAFED GERMANS WHILE TWO GIs IN A JEEP RACED BY AND YELLED - "JUMP IN YOU SON OF A BITCH" - JEEP DID NOT STOP - HE HAD TO SCRAMBLE - ON THE RUN "SULZ" WAS A FLT. LEADER - SURVIVED THE WAR.