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Sgt. Matthew NMI Lukasik (32833917)
Matt Lukasik on an M8 Greyhound armoured car, location unknown
Matt Lukasik was an exceptional soldier. He entered service straight from civilian life at Fort Niagara, New York, on February 4 1943, as a Private. A rapid series of promotions saw him first become a Private First Class gunner on a .60 calibre mortar, then Tec 5 as a truck driver, followed by Section Sergeant and finally Staff Sergeant, again as a mortar specialist.
He was cited for the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star - the US military’s second and third highest awards for bravery during the squadron’s five European campaigns. We are trying to find the Silver Star citation, which Matt’s son Rick believes was either for disabling a Tiger Tank and capturing the crew, or grounding a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter and capturing the pilot, both in Germany. We do have the citation for his Distinguished Service Cross (see below).
Family photo caption ‘Matty driving with his platoon’. This appears to be in Germany, sometime after cessation of hostilities.