George A. Sparages
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
George A. Sparages served in World War II in the European Theater. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
He was assigned to the 338th Bomb Group H, 563rd Squadron, 8th Air Force, out of Knetteshall, England. His job was Armor Gunner (Togglier) of the B-17 Cicero Kid. His crew flew 25 missions over Germany and France.
His rank was Technical Sergeant.
Mr. Sparages was decorated with the Air Medal with four Oak Clusters and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Mr. Sparages was born in 1925 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Anastasios and Jennie Sparages. He graduated from Rindge School of Technical Arts in 1943.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form; veteran’s account (below)
“I was the togglier on Richard Reichman’s crew. We didn’t have a bombardier, so I toggled off the bombs. We flew 25 missions over Germany and France. We were called a lucky crew because no one received a Purple Heart Medal. One of our biggest scares was when we had an almost direct hit by a flack shell. It took out the #1 and #2 engines, and we had to leave the formation and limp home, keeping a lookout for German fighters--they always looked for cripples.
“Thanks to our pilots and navigator, we didn’t have to ditch, though we were losing altitude. We headed for the nearest airfield. It was a British fighter field. They were very good to us, they fed and put us up for the night. “The next day, a truck from our airbase picked us up and brought us home, where we had a great welcome home. Lucky crew, hey?
“T/Sgt George Sparages, 388th Bomb Group, flew in a B-17 named Cicero Kid, named after our crew chief’s brother, who was shot down on a mission over Germany.”
