[Gabreski picture]

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Gabreski Biography

Article about the Francis Gabreski Historical Marker [Arrow Picture]

Francis S. Gabreski
was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1919. (His boyhood home was at 95 1/2 Spruce Street. His father's orginal name was Gabryszewski.) His military aviation career began in July 1940 when he entered pilot training and was graduated from Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in March 1941. He was with the 45th Fighter Squadron of the 15th Fighter Group in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

In November 1942 he was reassigned to England to serve as liaison officer to the Polish Air Force (Squadron 315). During his tour of duty in England, Colonel Gabreski compiled a total of 166 combat missions, with 500 combat hours flown in British Spitfire and American P-47 airplanes. He was credited with destroying 28 enemy aircraft in the air and 3 on the ground. He was shot down over enemy territory in July of 1944 and became a prisoner of war until he was liberated in May of 1945. He returned to the United States as Chief of the Fighter Test Section at Wright Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. On April 1946 he left the Air Force to accept a position with Douglas Aircraft Corporation in California.

Colonel Gabreski was recalled to active service in April 1947 and was assigned to Columbia University under the Air Force Educational Program to study the Russian language and Political science. After completion of his studies at Columbia University he was reassigned to his World War II outfit, the 56th Fighter Group, as commanding officer. In another reassignment he became commander of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing in Korea where he became America's eighth "jet ace" with a total of six and a half MIGs shot down.

Colonel Gabreski has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Cross with 12 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters and the Bronze Star. Foreign decorations include the French Legion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre with Palm, the Polish Cross of Valor, British Distinguished Flying Cross and the Belgium Croix de Guerre.

Colonel Gabreski's combined score of enemy aircraft destroyed during World War II and the Korean conflict stands at thirty seven and a half and makes him America's top air ace.

Date of Death: January 31, 2002; at 83, cause of death:,heart attack.

From: Wally West

Also see: "Gabby: A Fighter Pilot's Life" by Francis Gabreski and Carl Molesworth, Orion Books, New York, 1991

Francis Stanley Gabreski

Military officer, executive

Born Jan. 28, 1919, Oil City (PA), U.S.; son of Stanley Gabryszewski and Josephine (Kapica); married Catherine (Cochran); children: Djoni, Donald, Mary Ann, Frances, Patricia, James, Linda Kay, Debbie, F. Robert.

Education: graduate pilot, Maxwell Air Force Base, 1941; Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Columbia University, New York City, 1949; Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Notre Dame University (IN), 1985; Doctor of Science (D.Sc.), Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, 1986.

Career: pilot to colonel, United States Army Reserve (USAR), 1940-67; executive, Grumman Aerospace Corporation, Bethpage (NY), 1967-78, 1981-87; president, general manager, Long Island Railroad, Jamaica (NY), 1978-81. Retired.

Member of, i.a.: president, Mesa (AZ), 1968-69, Iron Gate Center, New York City, American Fighter Aces Association; American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars; United Service Organization; Columbia University Alumni Association; Notre Dame University Alumni Association; Pearl Harbor Survivors Association; United Fund of Long Island; Retired Officers Association.

Honors: foreign military awards: British Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), Cross of Valor, Polish Government in Exile, London (United Kingdom), Croix de Guerre (France), Legion d'Honneur (France), Croix de Guerre (Belgium), Republic of Korea President Unit Citation; 17 United States military medals and awards: Europe - Africa - Middle East Campaign Medal, Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Ciusters, Legion ofMerit, Air Force Longevity Service Award with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, World War II Victory Medal, American Defense Retrieve Medal, Korean Service Medal, Occupation Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross with 12 Oak Leaf Ciusters, Bronze Star Medal, Silver Star with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Service Cross and Distinguished Service Medal; Man of the Year, American Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1951; Eagles Hall of Fame, Fraternal Order of Eagles, 1955; Outstanding Citizen award, American - Polish Council of Illinois, 1968; National Aviation Hall of Fame, United States Congress, 1978.

Served with: World War II, United States Air Force (USAF), European Theater, Prisoner of War (POW) in Germany, 1940-45; Korean War, 1951-52.

Affiliation: Republican. Catholic.

Languages: English, Polish.

Hobbies: fishing, gardening.

Home: 106 Ryder Ave., Dix Hilis, NY 11746.

From: "Who's Who in Polish America" 1st Edition 1996-1997, Boleslaw Wierzbianski editor; Bicentennial Publishing Corporation, New York, NY, 1996