Janel Duncan Hamilton

Military

Jan was born on August 10, 1912, to George S. and Winifred Hamilton. He had a brother named Jack. He had a paper route when he was 12-13years old. His father died early. His mother was a very charming woman who everybody called "Mom".



Entered Army Air Force on 14 March 1942. He had schooling in airplane mechanic (Amarillo, TX) and flexible gunnery (Las Vegas, NV)



During World War II Jan served as a top gunner in a B-17. He signed up for a second time. One of the planes he was in was shot down and landed in France. It was later restored and he was sent pictures of it.



Awards include: Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, Good Conduct Medal, European Theater Medal with three stars

Rank: Technical Sergeant



Discharge date: 17 October 1945



After WWII, he worked for Southern Pacific Railroad for 45 years and received a pension from that. He lived in Oakland, California, all his life. He was a hard working man and was very private, therefore, he did not talk much about his time in the war.



He was married twice but his first wife's name is not known, at this time. His second wife's name is Iva Bernice Hewitt Hamilton and they were married in 1950, at a Methodist Church, in Lafayette, California. They spent the rest of their lives together. Jan passed at age 73 of emphysema in Oakland, California, in 1985.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 388th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Civilian
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 388th Bomb Group 44th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17032453
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Civilian
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 388th Bomb Group

Missions

  • Date: 27 February 1945
  • Date: 26 February 1945
  • Date: 26 February 1945
  • Date: 24 February 1945
  • Date: 24 February 1945

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

10 August 1912

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Teddy Wilson, niece

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Teddy Wilson, niece

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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07-25-2021, Separation from service Record dated 17 October 1945

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Niece

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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I have his medals in my possession, I have the citations (general orders) for the air medal and 4 oak leaf clusters

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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mission log from navigator, sent in letter to all crew on 10-15-1947

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Notes from BIll C. Husey sent to each of the crew........dated October 15, 1947

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Movement Orders, Heavy Bombardment Crew, Number FB-555-BJ 82, to overseas destination.

Date
ContributorKevin Fullerton
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Source of information is a niece. And documents saved by the family. I have in my possession multiple photographs of him, missions and other documents and medals.

Date
ContributorAAM
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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.388bg.info/Personnel.html