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Kermit Iver Olstad

Blooming Prairie High School

547th Bomber Squadron, 384th Bomber Group, Heavy

Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart

Kermit I. Olstad military photo 1942

Narrative

US Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant Kermit Iver Olstad was born January 23, 1922 in Westfield Township, Dodge County MN. He was the first-born son of Olaf and Lula (Bagg) Olstad. His paternal grandfather Peter Olstad immigrated to Minnesota from Norway in 1884 with his family. His mother Lula was born in 1902 in North Dakota and she was adopted by Norwegian immigrants. They moved to SE Minnesota shortly after her birth.

Kermit was the second born and he had three sisters: Ruby, Ione and Margaret and three brothers: Lawrence, Donald and Odean. His brothers also served in the Military and they all came home safely. By 1940 he had completed his 2nd year of high school and graduated in 1941 from Blooming Prairie High School. He was held in high esteem by all who knew him and was popular with his classmates. After graduation he moved out of his family home and was employed as a laborer for the LE Lynse Construction Company before enlisting in the Air Corp. He never married.

He was originally assigned to the 547th Bomber squadron, 384th Bomb group (heavy), 8th AF as a flexible waist gunner with the Lt. Maurice Booska crew on Mad Money. In March 1944 he was temporarily assigned to the USAAF B17 bomber named “Jean” which had a 10-member crew. 4 officers and 6 sergeant gunners. Their mission was to the Dornier Aircraft factory. Their aircraft received a direct hit to the cockpit and disintegrated over the target Operpffenhofen near Munich on April 24, 1944. Sixteen B-17's were lost this day, seven from the 384th Bomb Group. Eight crew members perished when the ship exploded. The radio gunner and left waist gunner survived by parachuting out. The left waist gunner reported that Kermit and tail gunner Pastorella were getting in their chutes and getting in position to bail as he parachuted out of the aircraft. That was the last he seen them.

Kermit was credited with 26 missions and this was to be his last mission. He had flown his tour with the Lt. Maurice Booska crew and had he completed this mission, he would have gone home.

Kermit and the crew were reported missing in action until April 27, 1944. His trip over Germany, which cost him his life, was with a new crew, he had been assigned temporary duty at Walhampton House, Lymington Hampshire, a FLAK house, for seven days in March 1944. His old crew with which he had made many missions had broken up. Six of his former buddies were home on furlough and three were German prisoners of war.

The eight perished crew members were originally buried in the POW cemetery on May 3, 1944 in Furstenfeldbruck. Kermit is commemorated in perpetuity at Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Neupre’, Belgium.