Spatz

Harold A. Spatz, 6936659, Sergeant

Engineer-Gunner Crew 16 

Born July 14, 1921, Lebo, Kansas
Executed by Japanese firing squad, October 15, 1942

Graduated from Lebo High School in June 1939 and entered military service on November 25, 1939 at Fort Riley, Kansas.  Received training as aircraft mechanic at Glendale, California from September 1940 until March 1941. Captured by the Japanese after Tokyo Raid and executed by firing squad on October 15, 1942. Decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and the Chinese Breast Order of Yung Hui.

Lt. Farrow and Sgt. Spatz were executed by the Japanese along with Lt. Hallmark of the 6th bomber on October 15, 1942.

Executed at Kiangwan Cemetery, Shanghai, China
Cremated and remains taken to the International Funeral Home in Shanghai, China
Discovered after the war stored under the name “E.L. Brister”

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
2177 Puomaina Drive
Honolulu, HI 96813-1729
808-566-1430

Section Q Grave 297
Interment 10/10/1949

Originally interred at Schofield Barracks, Mausoleum #2, Oahu, HI. 

Please view this wonderful piece describing Sgt. Spatz's participation in the Doolittle Raid and the many expressions of dedication to his memory, written by his cousin, Carolyn Davidson.

Spatz Hall is a dormitory named in Sgt. Spatz's honor at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas, dedicated on May 20, 2000.  The gentleman seated in the wheelchair is Harold Spatz's brother, Bob, who himself served in the Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1946 during World War II.  After the war he re-enlisted in the Air Force Reserves and then was called up to service during the Korean War.

The HAROLD A. "SKINNY" SPATZ MEMORIAL PARK in Lebo, Kansas was dedicated on November 1, 2003.  According to the City of Lebo website, “ .. a new shelter house was erected in the southern part of the city.  It was designed to accommodate family gatherings. Along with restroom facilities, it provides shelter from the seasons but yet opens to the outside to bring in the nice weather! The land was donated to the city by Caroline Busboom, who eventually married Bob Spatz the brother of Skinny. Therefore the park was honorably named after the local World War II hero from Lebo. “Skinny” was one of the pilots who flew in the Doolittle Raid and lost his life while imprisoned by the Japanese.”

In 2018, The Lebo, Kansas American Legion Post was chartered as the Harold “Skinny” Spatz Post No. 323 Department of Kansas in honor of Sgt. Spatz, a Lebo native.  See news release and renaming ceremony program.

There is also a Veterans Memorial in Lebo, Kansas with a monument and plaque honoring servicemen from Lebo who lost their lives during WWII. Sgt. Spatz's name appears on the plaque.  Next to that plaque is a rectangular cement slab with Harold Spatz written on it in script along with a handprint. His father poured sidewalks around town. When he was a child, Sgt. Spatz etched his name and placed his hand into the wet cement of a sidewalk his father had poured. After his death, someone saw cut that portion of the sidewalk to preserve it in his memory. It was donated to the memorial garden for display a few years back.