If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Lincoln, Nebraska
Last Address Hickam Field, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii
Casualty Date Dec 07, 1941
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Hawaii
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (VA) - Honolulu, Hawaii
Staff Sergeant George Bolan was Killed in Action on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Note: Initially interred in Schofield Military Cemetery and reinterred in 1949 in the Punchbowl.
Sources:
George Patrick Bolan was born 28 September 1918 in Lincoln, Lancaster county, Nebraska to Joseph Bernard and Mary Emily “Emma” (Gillespie)Bolan; he had three brothers and four sisters. His father was an auto mechanic and his mother was from Germany. George graduated from Lincoln High School in 1938 and enlisted shortly thereafter. His enlistment papers indicate he enlisted in Fort Crook in the medial corp. However, the Lincoln Star indicated he was a clerk in the quartermaster. The 1940 census has him in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Staff Sergeant (SSgt) George Patrick Bolan (Service Number 6930952) was assigned to Headquarters Squadron of the 5th Bombardment Group. The 5th Bombardment Group was moved from a medium bomber in 1939 to heavy bombers in 1940 and was known as the Bomber Barons. The 5th was equipped with a mix of B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-18 Bolo Medium bombers and was the first overseas group to be equipped with the new Boeing heavy bomber. In December 1941, the 5th had twelve B-17s based at Hickam Field, most of which were destroyed during the attack of Sunday, 7 December. However, the 5th was the first to fly following the attack. In the reorganization that followed Pearl Harbor, the 5th was allocated to the Seventh Air Force, performing search and patrol duties, guarding against a repeated attack.
SSgt. Bolan was killed in action during the attack on Hickam Field. He is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii and received a Purple Heart, WW II Victory, American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and Army Good Conduct medals as well as the Army Presidential Unit Citation.
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.
SOURCES:
Find-a-Grave memorial 3769934
HonorStates.org
Ancestry
