Private First Class Paul N. Lasky

Today we honor and remember PFC Paul N. Lasky of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 327th GIR, 101st Airborne Division.

Source: Find a Grave

108 years ago, Private Paul Nicholas Lasky of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, was born in Lorain, Lorain County, Ohio, on July 13, 1918. He was killed in action on September 19, 1944.

Private Lasky died at 26 years of age near Kruishoutem, Belgium, while flying to the Netherlands in a Waco Glider. Due to bad weather and poor visibility, Captain John Gallagher, who flew the C-47 that towed the Waco Glider, lost the formation over the sea four minutes before reaching the Belgian Coast. The plane and glider crossed the coast at an altitude of about 200 feet, but above land, visibility worsened, forcing Captain Gallagher to try to climb through the overcast. During these maneuvers, the glider started to have trouble and either cut loose or the rope broke. After this early and unexpected release, the glider then crashed in a field near Kruishoutem. Several witnesses of the crash stated that the glider’s tow rope became entangled in trees, causing the glider to crash. All aboard (15) were killed, including Private Lasky.

The 327th Glidermen were buried in the local cemetery after a service and a funeral procession. In April 1945, Private Lasky was reburied at the U.S. Military Cemetery Neuville-en-Condroz #1, Belgium. In the summer of 1949, he was again reburied, this time at his hometown of Lorain, where he rests eternally at the Calvary Cemetery.

His family was hit hard during that period, as his younger brother William was killed at age 17 by a tragic accident at work on April 12, 1944. His brother Peter, a seaman second class, was killed in action at age 34 when his ship, the U.S.S. Franklin, was attacked by a Japanese aircraft on March 19, 1945. Another older brother, Joseph, died at age 38 on September 9, 1945, as the result of injuries suffered in a fight which occurred in the C.I.O. Hall in Lorain during a party.

Besides his parents, Private Lasky left behind five brothers and a sister. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

May he rest in peace.