Albert A Altfillisch, 1924-1944

Corporal Albertus Augustine “Albert” Altfillisch was born on August 24, 1924 in Faith, Meade County, South Dakota. His father, Albertus “Albert” Benignus Altfillisch, was born in Iowa, and lost his first wife in childbirth. He married Kathryn M Frieberg of Minnesota in 1919.parents. His father worked as a farmer. Albert had one brother, Michael, and one sister, Helen. He had two half-brothers, Mark and Luke. He graduated from Rapid City High School. His brothers Michael and Luke served in the US Navy during the war.

He enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve on June 19, 1942. He trained at the aviation radio school at the US submarine base at Coco Solo, Panama. He was assigned to the First Marine Aircraft Wing, Flight Echelon 90 as a radio gunner. He flew in Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers as a part of a three-person crew. He functioned as the radio operator, bombardier, and gunner.

The First Marine Aircraft Wing was sent to Operation Cartwheel, with the goal to isolate the Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. In lieu of a direct assault, the US military captured other islands in the area and restricted sea traffic to resupply Rebaul. Torpedo bombers provided air support. Part of Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 143, Corporal Altfillisch and his crew disappeared on a flight on February 21, 1944. No bodies were recovered, and they were later declared dead. Albert was awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart.

Secretary of the Navy Forrestal wrote the following citation regarding the circumstances of Corporal Altfillisch death: “For courageous and heroic conduct as a radio gunner in Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 143 in aerial combat against enemy shipping and land installations. His expert marksmanship and courageous devotion to duty contributed materially to the successful completion of these missions and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Albert has memorials at Fort William McKinley in Manila, Philippines, and Black Hills National Cemetary in Sturgis, Meade County, South Dakota.

Thank you, Albert A Altfillisch for your sacrifice.

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This profile was written by Marilyn N. Clark. "I have a long-standing interest in World War II. My grandfather and numerous great-uncles served in that conflict. I have a BA in history from the University of Utah and have a lot of experience with volunteer genealogical research. It’s an honor to find and share information about these heroes that made such great sacrifices. Many thanks to Don for organizing this effort to share their stories.”

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. We welcome volunteers to help write these stories.

Sources:

Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24419937/albertus-augustine-altfillisch

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56778394/albert-augustine-altfillisch

1940 census https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2442&h=112230319&tid=&pid=&queryId=b3c4ce5f02477720c4894004b682b231&usePUB=true&_phsrc=uTN989&_phstart=successSource

1930 census https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=6224&h=122088148&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=2442

US Marine Corps muster rolls (5) at ancestry.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Britain_campaign

Rapid City Journal, 15 Mar 1948, p 12