Paul

Paul Gildner, born 01-02-1914 in Nimptsch, Silesia, joined the Army in 1933 in the 7^th Infantry Regiment, transferred to Hermann Goering's (see Hermann Goering) (did you know) Luftwaffe and became an Unteroffizier, on 01-09-1937. He succeeded in a pilot training and changed to the Jagdflieger Squadron in 1940 in the 1^st Jagdflieger Group, with 4 skills. Gildner is on the Western battle air with the night fighters and soon has his first night victory with his Messerschmitt Bf 110. He of 3./NJG1 shot down a Hampden bomber on the night of 2/3 September 1940 and achieved one of the first recorded night victories of the war. He was one of the early innovators in the organisation. His radio operator was Unteroffizer Müller. After 11 skills he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and was promoted to Oberfeldwebel on 09-07-1944. He became a Lieutenant on 01-08-1941 and Oberlieutenant on 01-04-1942. He earned both the Iron Crosses after the Western invasion and the battle of Britain. On 24-02-1943, Gildner at the age of 29 crashed because of motor damage, over Gilzen Rijen in Holland and died. He is buried, age 29, on the German war cemetery of Ysselsteyn, 32.000 graves, in the Netherlands. Only steps away of the grave of the first killed General Friedrich Kussin (see  Kussin) during Operation Market Garden. Also buried there the personalities, Kurt Schmidt (see Schmidt), General Oskar von der Hagen (see Hagen), Flyer aces August Geiger (see Geiger), Lippe Weissenfeld (see Lippe Weissenfeld), Sayn Wittgenstein (see Sayn Wittgenstein), Helmut Woltersdorf (see Woltersdorf) and Karl Willius (see Willius).