Kretzer, Harold
Army Technical sergeant

Harold Kretzer, age 32, from Minnesota, Freeborn county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, August 1, 1943
Death details: Tech. Sgt. Harold Kretzer, 32, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022. In the summer of 1943, Kretzer was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Kretzer was a gunner-engineer was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency