Lieutenant Robert J. Stolzy Diary

Collection — sc_box: MS 1, Folder: 20

Identifier: MS-284

Staff Only

Collection Scope and Content Summary

Diary, 1943-1944, of Lieutenant Robert J. Stolzy. Describes his experience as a pilot in World War II, flying sorties over Europe. Last entry by Stolzy is five days before his death, although an additional entry was made by his commander, Captain Sedman (?), explaining the circumstances of Stolzy's last mission, although at the time it was undetermined if he had managed to bail out safely.

Dates

1943-1944

Access

Available for use in the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

Biography

Lieutenant Robert J. Stolzy was born in 1923 in Byron Center, Michigan. He was in his freshman year at Michigan College of Mining and Technology when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force on April 6, 1943. After flight training in Missouri, he was sent to England in December 1943 where he flew both P-47 and P-51 fighters as a member of the Eighth Air Force, escorting bombers over Europe and engaging in interdiction missions. He flew forty combat sorties and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on February 24, 1944. On June 19, 1944, while leading a three ship formation over the Cherbourg Peninsula, he encountered heavy weather and crashed. The lieutenant's body was found three years later in a military cemetery at St. Laurent, France and was returned home for final burial.