Donald E. Casey, 2nd Lieutenant
A WWII veteran, B-17 Flying Fortress navigator and longtime Pritzker Military Museum & Library volunteer, Don is memorialized by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library and many others.
Donald E. Casey was born on November 6, 1924 and grew up in the Chicago suburb of River Forest. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. Don was called to service in February of 1943, choosing to enter navigation school to avoid the length and high failure rate of the pilot program. In October 1943, he received his silver wings and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Shortly afterward, he and his fellow airmen flew their brand new B-17 Flying Fortress bombers across the Atlantic Ocean to begin taking part in bombing raids over Germany and France in 1944.
In June of 1944, on his 28th combat mission and with only two more to go before he could be sent back stateside, 2nd Lieutenant Casey’s B-17 was struck by anti-aircraft fire, forcing him and his crewmates to bail out over Hamburg, Germany. The survivors of the parachute jump from 23,000 feet were quickly captured by German forces. Casey and four others were sent to the prison camp Stalag Luft III, where earlier in March the “Great Escape” had occurred. As the war neared an end, Casey and thousands of other POWs were moved to a camp in Bavaria, where they were liberated by Patton’s 3rd Army in April 1945. In June of 1945, Casey returned home to Chicago.
After the war, Don attended Dartmouth College, receiving a degree in Economics in 1948. He worked in investment banking in New York and Denver before returning to Chicago and working for an insurance company. While working in insurance, he attended the Loyola University School of Law, earning a law degree in 1957. Don worked as a lawyer for the next 54 years, eventually becoming a partner at Springer, Casey & Dienstag before retiring in 2011.
In 1994, Don began writing what would become his memoir. Drawing from his own memories, wartime letters and other research, the book describes his wartime experiences as a bomber navigator and POW. Describing the origin of his memoir’s title To Fight for My Country, Sir!, Don commented:
“One Saturday morning at Advanced Navigation School in the fall of 1943, I and my fellow cadets stood at attention by our bunks for inspection. As the offers went down the line, they stopped in front of me. One of them tauntingly asked: ‘Casey, why did you join the Army?’ The 18 year-old kid in me answered: ‘To fight for my country, sir.’ My classmates laughed aloud, but I let it pass. It was a good answer to a ridiculous question, and it still is today.”
Don was also a longtime volunteer at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, welcoming visitors at the front desk and serving as a public face and representative of the organization’s mission. Treating the role very much like a paid job, he guided visitors to the Museum & Library through the facility and collections with an easygoing courtesy and geniality of his generation.
2nd Lieutenant Donald E. Casey’s decorations include: the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Prisoner of War Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the European Theater Medal with two battle stars, the American Theater Medal, a Presidential Unit Citation as part of the 379th Bombardment Group, and the Chevalier’s (Knight’s) Legion of Honor (France).
Book Dedicated: To Fight for My Country, Sir!: Memoirs of a 19 Year Old Navigator Show Down in Nazi Germany and Imprisoned in the WWII "Great Escape" Prison Camp by Donald E. Casey
Listen to Don Casey's Oral History
Don is also memorialized by:
Christine Akins
Mike Biesecker
Robert and Donna Blakely
Aaron Bludworth
Catherine Breden-McErlean
Alice Rae Casey
Nancy Drapeau
John and Judith Holland
Rose Horcher
Dr. Stephen Korbet M.D.
Larry Peters
Michael Rees
Van F. and Carolyn Sue Weeks Salmans
Kathy J. Sander
William F. Shean
Marc and Meredith Silver
Isaac Starker
Tim Stassi
John Wahlund
Matthew Weiland
Martin Winter
