2nd Lt. Anthony Slabis was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, on April 20, 1923, to Anton and Vencenta Slabis and had a sister. His family resided at 100 North 24 Avenue, Melrose Park, where he graduated from Mount Carmel Grade School. He then graduated from Proviso Township High School in 1941. After high school, he worked for his father. He registered with Selective Service on June 27, 1942, and named his father as his contact person.
Anthony enlisted in the US Army in late 1943 or early 1944, and was selected for the Air Corps because his civilian job skills would be best used in the Air Corps and because he scored 110 or higher on the Army General Classification Test and given the serial number 16 137 544. He also was allowed to volunteer for pilot training. It is known he trained as an aviation cadet and was commission an officer on February 8, 1944 at Frederick Field, Oklahoma. He received the serial number O 711 809. He then trained to fly B-24s at the following bases: Harlingen Field, Texas, February 29, 1944; Hammer Field, California, March 30, 1944; Lincoln Field, Nebraska, April 14, 1944; Davis-Montham Field, Arizona, May 19, 1944; Topeka Field, Kansas, July 29, 1944; Langley Field, Virginia, August 13, 1944. Upon completing instruction he was assigned to the 868th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) of the 5th Bomb Group, and sent to Hamilton Field, California, November 14, 1944. The unit was known as the Snoopers and his plane and crew joined the 868th on Rabaul, New Britain, Papua, New Guinea.
The original members of the squadron were handpicked to fly low level night missions against Japanese ships in B-24s that were painted black. To do this, the crews used a form of radar that allowed them to track Japanese ships at night at great distances. The system was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and allowed the planes to search for 10 or more hours for Japanese ships. The squadron was known for attacking at one thousand feet or less in the darkness without being spotted by the Japanese. The first sign of an attack was usually an explosion when a ship was hit by bombs.
On January 12, 1945, the Snoopers were sent on a mission to Island of Borneo. The members of his crew were 2nd Lt. Gorden E. Bruns, pilot; 2nd Lt. Leslie E. Jacobs, navigator; 2nd Lt. Wayne P. Ruth, bombardier; Sgt. James W. Hagerty, radar operator; Cpl. Kenneth C. Dague, gunner; Cpl. George Ktisfalusi, assistant engineer; Cpl. Fred L. Lenney Jr., gunner; Cpl. Herman F. Marquardt Jr., radio operator; Cpl. Frank J. Molinari, engineer. It is not known what happened but Anthony’s plane was last seen over Sanga, Sanga Oil Fields, Borneo. When the planes landed at Rabaul, his plane did not return from the mission. His father was sent a telegram.
MR ANTON SLABIS
1410 NORTH 22ND AVENUE
MELROSE PARK ILLINOIS
THE SECRETARY OF WAR DESIRES ME TO EXPRESS HIS DEEP REGRET THAT YOUR SON SECOND LIIEUTENANT ANTHONY SLABIS HAS BEEN REPORTED MISSING IN ACTION SINCE TWELVE JANUARY IN SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA PERIOD IF FURTHER DETAILS OR OTHER INFORMATION ARE RECEIVED YOU WILL BE PROMPTLY NOTIED PERIOD
ULIO
THE ADJUTANT GENERAL
A letter followed the telegram.
Mr. Anton Slabis
1410 North 22nd Avenue
Melrose Park, Illinois
Dear Mr. Slabis:
This letter is to confirm my recent telegram in which you were regretfully informed that your son, Second Lieutenant Anthony Slabis, O 711 809, Air Corps, has been reported missing in action since 12 January 1945 in Southwest Pacific.
I know that added distress is caused by failure to receive some information or details. Therefore, I wish to assure you that at any time additional information is received it will be transmitted to you without delay, and, if in the meantime no additional information is received, I will again communicate with you at the expiration of three months. Also, it is the policy of the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces upon receipt of the “Missing Air Crews Report” to convey to you any details that might be contained in that report.
The term “missing in action” is used only to indicate that the whereabouts or status of an individual is not immediately known. It is not intended to convey the impression that the case in closed. I wish to emphasize that every effort is exerted continuously to clear up the status of our personnel. Under war conditions this is a difficult task as you must readily realize. Experience has shown that many persons reported missing in action are subsequently reported prisoners of war, but as this information is furnished by countries with which we are at war, the War Department is helpless to expedite such reports. However, in order to relieve financial worry, Congress has enacted legislation which contains in force pay, allowances and allotments to dependents of the personnel being carried in a missing status.
Permit me to extend to you my heartfelt sympathy during this period of uncertainty.
Sincerely yours,
(signed)
J. A. ULIO
Major General
The Adjutant General.
Anthony and six of the plane’s crew appear to have died when the plane was shot down over Borneo. Three crew members, Sgt. James Hagerty, 2nd. Lt. Leslie Jacobs, and Cpl. Frank Molinari bailed out of the plane, before it exploded, and were captured by the native police who took them to Angganna and turned the men over to the the Keibetai (Japanese Naval Police). The three men were taken 300 yards from the Keibata Headquarters and beheaded on February 15, 1945. The war ended and Anthony’s family still had not received any information on him. On January 13, 1946, Anthony – and the other members of his crew – was declared dead. His parents received a letter from the War Department, but the contents of the letter is not known.
The American Graves Registration Service had the job of recovering the dead. An Australian team was sent to near the Mahakam River Delta, Borneo and through conversations with the local population learned of the crash site of an American B-24, near Samarinda, Borneo. In the plane’s wreckage the remains of crew members were recovered. It was reported that few remains were found because the plane had exploded. The other three crew members were recovered at in a common grave on September 21, 1945. The Australians submitted the information on the recovery of the men on April 4, 1946., and that the men were buried at the United States Military Cemetery, Balikpapan, Borneo. All the remains were moved to the United States Military Cemetery, Barrackpore, India, and buried in Common Grave 50. At some point, the remains were exhumed and moved to the US Army Mausoleum #2, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The Office of the Quartermaster General, Washington DC, determined that the remains found in the plane were the remains of seven crew members who died when the plane exploded. It was decided that the crew would be buried in a common grave at an US National Cemetery located approximately the same distance for the majority of families to reach. On March 10, 1950, 2nd Lt. Anthony Slabis – and the other members of his crew – was buried in Section 82, Site 103C in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Saint Louis, Missouri.
