Irwin Zaetz ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Vermont
On January 25, 1944 First Lieutenant Zaetz was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ He is remembered by the people of Vermont. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
▶ Submit Update Request ▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Irwin Zaetz is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2021-03-22 19:07:54.
Missing : Core Data
· Middle name· Enlistment type
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Parents, family history· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 120627 |
| Service ID | O-791661 |
| Name | Irwin Zaetz |
| From | Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont |
| Birth Date | November 2, 1917 |
| Casualty Date | January 25, 1944 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Specialty | Navigator |
| Unit/Group | 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, 425th Bomber Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Missing in Action |
| Location | Arunachal Pradesh, India |
| Burial | Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines |
| Notable Awards |
★ Distinguished Flying Cross
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Irwin Zaetz is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. |
Additional Details
Irwin G "Zipper" Zaetz was born in Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont. He was the 4th of the 6 children of Morris Gersh Zaetz and Jennie Picard. Zaetz was a star athlete in three sports at Burlington High School. He was nickhamed "Zipper" because of the way he moved up and down the basketball court. He was known as a sharp dresser, and always a gentleman, careful in saying and doing the right thing.He had married his high school sweetheart Ethyle Renee Wolfe in 1942. Irwin was living in Chittenden, Rutland County, Vermont when he entered the service. On January 25, 1944 he was on the crew of the B-24J Liberator #42-73308 "Hot as Hell" when they took off from Kunming Airfield in China during a routine flight to Chabua Airfield in India. They were reported missing with no trace and were officially declared dead on January 26, 1946. There had been heavy fog the day they disappeared. Five planes flew the same route that day, and all of them crashed. Some crew members on three of the planes survived, however those on "Hot as Hell" and another plane vanished. On December 7, 2006 the wreck site was located in Damrah, Arunchal Pradesh State, India by Clayton Kuhles of MIA Recoveries. It was in 2015 that the US Defense Department was finally allowed access to investigate the crash site. Identification of remains are being undertaken with advances in DNA analysis. We identified 8 casualties in our archive related to the #42-73308 incident on January 25, 1944.
◼Irwin Zaetz :: Navigator
|
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Distinguished Flying Cross
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Vermont Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Vermont who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▶ Vermont was home to over 1,531 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 343 World War I
• 985 World War II
• 102 Korean War
• 101 Vietnam War
• 35 Prisoners of war
• 216 Missing in action
• 2 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 14 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 985 World War II
• 102 Korean War
• 101 Vietnam War
• 35 Prisoners of war
• 216 Missing in action
• 2 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 14 D-Day Normandy casualties
Guardians of Honor Credits
▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission
▶ U-Haul Supported National Memorial Day Parade
▶ American Veterans Center 75th D-Day Congressional Reception
▶ National D-Day Memorial
▶ San Diego Coin & Bullion
▼ Research Contributors - Groups and individuals who have been directly responsible for curating content. Some are experienced historians and archivists, others are enthusiastic members of the public who have suggested content additions or corrections.
Honor States Admin
Roy "Joker"
Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
Here is Some Important Information!
National Memorial Day Parade with Spirit of 45
On May 27, 2019 the Honor States group was proud to be a part of our premier Memorial Day parade hosted by the District of Columbia and sponsored by the American Veteran Center. Together with Spirit of 45 and dozens of enthusiastic kids, the float and banner in tribute to the fallen at Normandy proved memorable and moving.
★ Featured National Supporter
Our Supporters are Essential Team Members! - learn more
Lenor - I look forward each day to helping get the word out about Honor States. Especially to the kids who really need to learn.
Grace - Thank you for this tribute to our fallen veterans. They were wonderful young men who died way too young. It is sad.
Rick - Rest in Peace Soldier. Thank you for your loyalty and your sacrifice. You answered the call and laid down your life for others.
Collin - Your site is providing educational benefits. Kids especially really need to know of the supreme gifts of their freedom.
Copyright 2024, Created in the USA
General Disclaimer - This is a private sector project developed by Hello Pineapple LLC. Although we enter into collaborative associations with many supporting organizations, this site is not owned or operated by any Government body. All information found on this site has been obtained through fair use public contributions. We've done our best to craft a valuable and comprehensive product for the benefit of our world's collective history, however we make no claims of 100% accuracy. :)
Furthermore, the information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or contractural advice. Parts of this website may include sections that may be considered advertising in a broad sense. All information is current at the time of publication, however it is subject to change by it's very nature.