OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – A Green Bay native and World War II hero, Austin Straubel, will be inducted this weekend into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame.
“It is fitting that Major Austin Straubel be among those honored in the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame,” says Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach. “He led countless missions during World War II and ultimately gave his life for our country. In fact, he was the first Brown County aviator to lose his life during the war.”
Straubel graduated from Green Bay East High School and UW-Madison, where he played football for the Badgers. After graduation, Straubel returned home to work in his father’s business before joining the Army in 1928.
In February 1942, while Commanding Officer of the 11th Bombardment Squadron and Acting Commanding Officer of the 7th Bombardment Group, he flew over the Makassar Strait in Indonesia as Japanese Zeros attacked and shot his plane down. Straubel managed to land on an emergency airstrip, but he and the crew died from injuries sustained in the incident.
The Brown County Board of Supervisors voted in 1946 to name the county’s new airport Austin Straubel Field in honor of Straubel’s dauntless courage, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice.
“We’ve always taken great pride in being named after such an outstanding individual,” said Airport Director Tom Miller in a statement. “While our name has been adapted throughout the years to reflect our operation, we have always retained Austin Straubel’s name as part of our name. It’s a constant reminder to all of us about the sacrifices our military makes to keep us free.”
Other inductees will include Dick Hanusa of Oshkosh, Jim Szajkovics of Greendale, and Billy and Judy Zivko formally of Hartford. The ceremony takes place Saturday at EAA’s AirVenture Museum.
