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Bruce Sundlun
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Bruce Sundlun
Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as 71st governor of Rhode Island between 1991 and 1995.
He was Rhode Island's second Jewish governor, and the only Jewish governor in the United States during his two terms. In addition to politics, Sundlun had a varied career as a military pilot, federal attorney, practicing lawyer, corporate executive and university lecturer.
Sundlun was born in Providence on January 19, 1920, to Walter Irving Sundlun and Jennette "Jan" Zelda (née Colitz) Sundlun. His grandparents were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants.
Sundlun attended the Gordon School, Classical High School (Providence) and the Tabor Academy (Marion, Massachusetts). In 1933, while attending Boy Scout camp at Camp Yawgoog, he fell through ice on a pond and was rescued by a young John Chafee; and while in high school, he was a track star and excelled in long jump events.
Upon finishing college classes begun in 1938, he received a B.A. from Williams College in 1946 after serving during World War II in the United States Army Air Forces flying B-17 bombers in the 8th Air Force in England. He attended Harvard Law School, graduating with an LL.B. in 1949.
While still in college, Sundlun volunteered for service in the U.S. Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program on December 8, 1941, at Westover Field. He was trained as a four-engine bomber pilot at Maxwell Field in Alabama, after basic flight training at the USAAC Southeast Training Center at Orangeburg, South Carolina, the Greenville Army Air Field at Greenville, Mississippi, and George Field in Lawrenceville, Illinois.
During overseas active duty beginning in June 1943, Sundlun served as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in the England-based 545th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force at Grafton-Underwood Air Base. On December 1, 1943, during his 13th bombing mission, his plane the Damn Yankee was damaged by flak during the bombing of Solingen, Germany, knocking out one of the engines and jamming the bomb bay doors in an open position.
On the slowed return trip to England, the damaged Damn Yankee was intercepted by a squadron of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters while over Nazi-occupied Jabbeke, Belgium, and they inflicted further damage to the plane causing its crash. Sundlun was able to bank the airplane hard to the left before bailing out, to avoid crashing into the town center. Moments later the plane crashed into a turnip field at Zomerweg 41 51°10′08″N 3°05′56″E / 51.16878°N 3.0989°E, south of Jabbeke. A monument commemorating the crash was erected on the side of the road near the crash site by the citizens of Jabbeke in 2009 and he was named an honorary citizen because his action saved countless lives in the town center of Jabbeke. Of the ten-man crew, Five were killed while in the plane, four were quickly captured by German forces on the ground, with Sundlun the only crew member able to evade capture.
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Bruce Sundlun
Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as 71st governor of Rhode Island between 1991 and 1995.
He was Rhode Island's second Jewish governor, and the only Jewish governor in the United States during his two terms. In addition to politics, Sundlun had a varied career as a military pilot, federal attorney, practicing lawyer, corporate executive and university lecturer.
Sundlun was born in Providence on January 19, 1920, to Walter Irving Sundlun and Jennette "Jan" Zelda (née Colitz) Sundlun. His grandparents were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants.
Sundlun attended the Gordon School, Classical High School (Providence) and the Tabor Academy (Marion, Massachusetts). In 1933, while attending Boy Scout camp at Camp Yawgoog, he fell through ice on a pond and was rescued by a young John Chafee; and while in high school, he was a track star and excelled in long jump events.
Upon finishing college classes begun in 1938, he received a B.A. from Williams College in 1946 after serving during World War II in the United States Army Air Forces flying B-17 bombers in the 8th Air Force in England. He attended Harvard Law School, graduating with an LL.B. in 1949.
While still in college, Sundlun volunteered for service in the U.S. Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program on December 8, 1941, at Westover Field. He was trained as a four-engine bomber pilot at Maxwell Field in Alabama, after basic flight training at the USAAC Southeast Training Center at Orangeburg, South Carolina, the Greenville Army Air Field at Greenville, Mississippi, and George Field in Lawrenceville, Illinois.
During overseas active duty beginning in June 1943, Sundlun served as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in the England-based 545th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force at Grafton-Underwood Air Base. On December 1, 1943, during his 13th bombing mission, his plane the Damn Yankee was damaged by flak during the bombing of Solingen, Germany, knocking out one of the engines and jamming the bomb bay doors in an open position.
On the slowed return trip to England, the damaged Damn Yankee was intercepted by a squadron of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters while over Nazi-occupied Jabbeke, Belgium, and they inflicted further damage to the plane causing its crash. Sundlun was able to bank the airplane hard to the left before bailing out, to avoid crashing into the town center. Moments later the plane crashed into a turnip field at Zomerweg 41 51°10′08″N 3°05′56″E / 51.16878°N 3.0989°E, south of Jabbeke. A monument commemorating the crash was erected on the side of the road near the crash site by the citizens of Jabbeke in 2009 and he was named an honorary citizen because his action saved countless lives in the town center of Jabbeke. Of the ten-man crew, Five were killed while in the plane, four were quickly captured by German forces on the ground, with Sundlun the only crew member able to evade capture.
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