484th Bombardment Group

484th Bomb Group.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

484th Bombardment Group

Alternative Title

484th Bomb Group

Subject

Veterans--Florida
World War, 1939-1945

Description

Ten uniformed soldier of the 484th Bombardment Group pose in front of a plane around 1943. A cartoon drawing of a man wearing a top hat and tuxedo appears on the side of the plane along with the caption, "Stew Bum".

A notable solider who appears in the photograph is Sidney J. Malatsky (1924-1944). Born in 1924 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Malatsky's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants who had came to the United States around the turn of the century. Malatsky attended Chelsea High School, where he made the honor roll and was active in band, orchestra, the school yearbook, and debating club. In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps Reserves and entered the service in January of 1943. He served in the 827th Bombardment Squadron, 484th Bombardment Group, Heavy, and rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. His plane was hit during a mission in November 1944, and the crew crash-landed the plane in the Adriatic Sea. The plane broke in half and Malatsky was killed in the crash at the age of twenty. He was awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart, and is recognized on the Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Italy, as well as at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

In 2017, the University of Central Florida was one of three universities selected to launch the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program Project. The program engaged a team of scholars to make the life stories of veterans buried in the Florida National Cemetery available to the public. The project engages UCF students in research and writing and fosters collaboration between students, faculty and local Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculum for k-12 students. The corresponding website exhibit uses RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive of related data. The public can use the project-developed augmented-reality app at more than 100 gravesites at the Florida National Cemetery, where they can access the UCF student-authored biographies of veterans.

Source

Digital copy of original black and white photograph

Date Created

ca. 1943

Format

image/jpg

Extent

401 KB

Medium

1 black and white photograph

Language

eng

Type

Still Image

Accrual Method

Donation

Mediator

History Teacher

Curator

Kelly, Karen
Cravero, Geoffrey

External Reference

Abney, Barb. "VA Selects UCF Historians to Archive Stories of Deceased Veterans Veterans." UCF Today, March 13, 2017. Accessed August 9, 2017. https://today.ucf.edu/va-selects-ucf-historians-archive-stories-deceased-veterans/.
Black, Jeremy. World War Two: A Military History. London [u.a]: Routledge, 2003.

Citation

“484th Bombardment Group,” RICHES, accessed April 20, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/10218.

Locations

Categories