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| Date or Year of Birth:
Jan 8, 1923
| Date of Death:
Mar 6, 1944
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Last Known Hometown:
Two Rivers, WI
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TRAINING| Graduation date:
Feb 4, 1943
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South Plains Army Air Field
Lubbock, TX
| class No.: 43 03
| Graduation Rank:
Flight Officer
T121188
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TIMELINE
| Date | Record | Squadron | Source |
|---|
| Date | Record | Squadron | Source |
|---|
| 1943-02-04 | graduation Rank:Flight Officer, Base: South Plains Army Air Field, Location: Lubbock,TX | NA | See Training | | 1943-11-26 | [Assignment to the 319th Commando Squadron, 1st Air Commando Group]
Special Order Number 71: HEADQUARTERS CHINA BURMA INDIA,
AIR FORCES TRAINING COMMAND (PROV),
A.P.O. 882, 26 November 1943:
3. The following named O and EM, 5318th Provisional Air Unit, WP via 1st available air T[ransport] from APO 882 to APO 465, reporting upon arrival there at to 1st Lt VINCENT J ROSE, O1166596, for dy:
[listed] F/O LEROY C. SHIMULUNAS, T121188.
| 319/1AC | SO #71 Personal papers of John Price | |
CASUALTIES | Mission: Burma | KIA: Shot by Japanese Patrol See Stories |
AWARDS Issue Date:
1944-04-24 |
Mission:
BURMA |
Ribbon:
 | Isssueing Agent & GO:
HQ, AAF, CHINA-BURMA-INDIA
GENERAL ORDER NO. 58 section II. Thursday |
Award Title:
Air Medal, AM |
Source:
General Order # 58 24 April 1944 , section II, #1 |
Last Updated:
Apr 29, 2020 | G.O. No. 58, c.s., dated 24 April 1944,
II.
Awards of the Air Medal. 1. Pursuant to the authority contained in Army Regulations 600-45, War Department, Washington, D. C., 22 September 1943, the Air Medal is hereby awarded to the following named Officers and enlisted men of the * * * Air Commando Group for meritorious achievement in aerial flight on the night of 5 March 1944 during which exposure to enemy fire was probable and expected. Performing extremely hazardous double −tow operation without benefit of guide lights due to the proximity of the enemy, they crossed a 7,000 foot range of mountains during which they encountered haze conditions which continued for the remainder of the mission — approximately four to five hours — fully realizing the impossibility of return, regardless of conditions encountered at their destination, inasmuch as the tow planes were flying the maximum possible distance with such an overload. Landing in territory known to be patrolled by the enemy, they encountered innumerable obstructions making a successful landing, without crashing, very nearly impossible. In spite of hazards involved, they displayed great skill in the accomplishment of these landings which resulted in a minimum of casualties. After landing, they aided in clearing the field for subsequent glider lands, removing crashed gliders and other material and equipment from the field and later assisted in the construction of a landing strip suitable for transport aircraft — a task requiring twelve hours of completion — although their physical endurance had been taxed to the utmost by the strenuous nature of the flight just completed. Their successful accomplishment of this flight with a display of devotion to duty and a degree of efficiency above and beyond that normally expected reflects great credit upon themselves and upon the Army Air Forces of the United States.
Hails from Two Rivers, WI |
MISSIONS
Burma
Broadway—21P: Co Pilot was FRED M PUGH, Jr., 18098757, Corporal, Air Corps, as co-pilot. Home address: 601 East Tylor Street, Athens, Texas.
LeRoy Carl SHIMULUNAS Pilot
Serial No.: 1
Chalk No.: 0 Chalk Unknown
DOCUMENTS:
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: 15 Wisconsin Men Missing in Action, March 1944
File Name: IMG_2834NewspaperArticle.JPG
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: Military Roster of the Dead
File Name: LeroyRosteroftheDead.jpg
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: Military Roster of the Dead
File Name: LeroyRosteroftheDead.jpg
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: 53 Years Later, Soldier Receives Memorial
File Name: Memorial 1997 Leroy Shimulunas with Family.jpg
Document Date:May 25, 1997
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: SPAFS, Goodfellow Field Vie Tonight
File Name: SPAAF Army Basketball Article Leroy Shimulunas.pdf
Document Category: Newspaper Article
Source: Personal Papers
Title: Wisconsin Casualties
File Name: wisconsinCasualties.jpg
Interrogation Check Sheets (ICS) were located by our researcher Hans den Brok, from the NL
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ADDITONAL INFORMATIONFlight Officer Shimulunas
First Published in Briefing 2020 by Captain Trevor Shimulunas, USMC
SHIMULUNAS: Leroy C.
Residence: Two Rivers
Born: Jan 8, 1923
Enlistment Date: June 17, 1941
Enlistment City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hieght: 68
Weight: 153
Service No: T121188
FL O. Air Corps World War II
Missing in Action, nonrecoverable
Killed in action
Died: March 6, 1944
Place of death: Burma
Buried: Unknown
********
Parents Told Son Missing
Mr. and Mrs. Anton Shimulunas of 2000 Jefferson street, Two Rivers, have been notified by the War Department that their son, Lieut. Leroy C. Shimulunas, 21, is missing in action in the Asiatic theater of operations. He has been missing since March 5.The Two Rivers officer has been overseas since last November and his parents believe he has been in China. He was attached to the air corps as a glider pilot.
Lieutenant Shimulunas was a prominent athlete in Washington High School, Two Rivers, and a member of Coach Ed Hall's 1941 basketball team that won the state championship at Madison. He also played softball on Two
Rivers teams and played in the high school band four years.
Graduated from high school in June 1941, he volunteered for service 10 days later. He received his wings at Lubbock, Texas in February, 1943.
He has three brothers and a sister in the service.
Herald Times Reporter Wednesday, April 4, 1944 pg. 2
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Shimulunas Died in Burma, Parents Told
War Department Says Local Glider Pilot Was Ambushed By Japs
Flight Officer, Le Roy Shimulunas, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton
Shimulunas, 2009 Jefferson street, city, missing in action in the China-Burma-India theater since March 6, 1944, has been officially declared dead in a letter from the war department received by his parents here today.
Killed By Japs According to the message
Flight Officer Shimulunas, pilot of a troop- carrying glider, on a mission over Burma on March 5, 1944, landed his craft safely during an emergency the same night. Then, in company with British troops who were passengers
in the plane, started a march to Indaw, Burma. The following day the party was ambushed by a group of Japanese soldiers, and Shimulunas was one of those killed in the ensuing machine gun skirmish. The last letter from
the local flyer to his parents was dated in February, 1944. There has been no word from him since. Plans are being made to conduct memorial services at the St. John's Lutheran church here in the near future. A graduate of Washington high school where he was an outstanding athlete, on June 6, 1941. Shimulunas enlisted in the army at Green Bay ten days later. He received his recruit training at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., and was commissioned
a flight officer at the South Plains Army Flying school, Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 4, 1943.
He left for duty in the Pacific theater in November, 1943.
On Championship Team
Shimulunas gained his greatest fame in high school athletics as a regular guard
on the state championship team of 1940 under Ed Hall, former Raider coach.
He took part in basketball for four years at Washington high and played football
during his first three years. A member of the high school band, he was the president
of the organization in his senior year. He was also a member of the senior class
executive board, and was recognized by his teachers and classmates as a
"fine, clean-cut boy."
He was engaged to wed Miss Lorraine Shedivy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Shedivy, 1714 Lincoln street, city.
Brother, Sister in Service
Surviving, in addition to the parents, are three brothers and three sisters.
Two Rivers Reporter, Monday, February 4, 1946
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Flight Officer Leroy C. ShimulunasWalls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, McKinley Road, Fort Bonifacio, 1634, Rizal, Philippines.
Photo of his name on the Tablet of the Missing as it is memorialized in the Philippines
Capt Trevor Shimulunas, Grand Nephew of Flight Officer Leroy C. Shimulunas, contacted the research team and here is some of the information
that he gave out team on his great uncle.
My grandpa George Shimulunas was Leroy's older brother who was injured in the Pacific when an artillery shell landed near him. He carried the wound the rest of his life until 2003.
He sadly left behind a fiance, Miss Lorraine Shedivy.
I've got a lot of information on his earlier life - it seems he was a high school basketball star, one of the leading players during my small home town's 1941 State Championship victory, a leader in multiple facets of his school and local community.
Which, after reading a bit of your website, is in line with the caliber of men who flew gliders.
His birthday is January 8, 1923.
When I was in middle school we were researching family history, and so I asked my Aunt Bonnie (George's daughter) about Leroy. She told me the same story that you will see in the article and then
added the following.
Years later after the war, her grandparents received a letter from one of the British soldiers saying he was one of the men in Leroy's glider. The letter went on to say that their plane had a
critical emergency, and that they were going down. Leroy managed to land the glider safely. After everyone got out they started their patrol towards Indaw, Burma. While taking a rest at a body of water,
the group was ambushed by a Japanese patrol. According to the letter, Leroy was the only one who went for his rifle. And so, he was shot. The rest of the men were taken prisoner, and as the letter-writer
was being led away he looked back and saw Leroy laying face-down in the water. That was the last they saw of Leroy. The letter-writer was then sent to a POW camp for I don't know how long.
After he got out, and I don't know how long after, he must have started trying to find out more about the pilot's family who saved his life. Apparently he was successful, and was able to send a letter
to the family giving some finite, although disappointing, closure. Although it wasn't confirmed that he was dead as the patrol was being led away, I don't think the Japanese would have left him alive.
This was close to 20 years ago that I was told this story. I will ask, but I am almost positive the letter is gone. My grandpa didn't like to talk about WWII,
Leroy's father, Anton, was himself a veteran of WWI who also didn't talk about it.
--Best, Trevor Shimulunas, Capt USMC
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Roster of the Dead
local newspaper which includes the transcription of what I assume was the War Department's account to his parents of what happened
Wisconsin Casualty list.
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Donated by family member Trevor Shimulunas |
