John J Horan
Military
media-6652.jpeg
UPL 6652
Crew #676
John J. Horan Crew
466th BG - 786th BS
Standing Left to Right: L.A. Shapiro (B), James Clohessy (WG), J.J. Rittercamp (CP), John J. Horan (P)
Kneeling Left to Right: Raymond R. McCoy (FE), Thomas L. Fyock (R/O), Harold A. Thomlinson (NG), John A. Lynch (TT), Larry Ross (TG)
This crew completed a 30 mission tour
B-24J-155-CO #44-40328 "This Above All" Code: U8-T 466th Bomb Group collection
John J. Horan Crew
466th BG - 786th BS
Standing Left to Right: L.A. Shapiro (B), James Clohessy (WG), J.J. Rittercamp (CP), John J. Horan (P)
Kneeling Left to Right: Raymond R. McCoy (FE), Thomas L. Fyock (R/O), Harold A. Thomlinson (NG), John A. Lynch (TT), Larry Ross (TG)
This crew completed a 30 mission tour
B-24J-155-CO #44-40328 "This Above All" Code: U8-T 466th Bomb Group collection
466th BG Historian
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33430739
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39463691
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Radio Operator/Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: What's Cookin Doc
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Paper Doll
- Unit: 34th Bomb Group 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron 7th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: This Above All
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 493rd Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Pudgy
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Wisconsin, USA | 7 November 1922 | |
Other 466th BG Combat Tour |
Attlebridge, Norwich, Norfolk NR9, UK | 23 December 1944 - 16 April 1945 | |
Other Departed Operation Home Run |
Attlebridge, Norwich, Norfolk NR9, UK | 9 June 1945 | "So it was going to be old "What's Cookin Doc." After the initial disappointment wore off, we realized that we were not that bad off. "Doc" was a fine old airplane and had good flight characteristics. The next day we went down to the flight line and met Bob Raley, the ground crew chief. We volunteered our services to do whatever he needed us to do to get the aircraft ready for the long flight back to the states. Everybody went to work. Our guys scrubbed the plane from one end to theother. We were shooting for a target departure date of 1 June 1945. It was decided that we wouldn't need the big slabs of additional armor on either side of the cockpit for the trip home. They were removed, which left us a blank space under the window, which our guys decided to do something about. We happened to have a former sign painter on the crew and he found some paint and went to work. On the co-pilot's side he painted on all the air crew and ground crew names. On the pilot's side he painted the mission "scoreboard," Since we couldn't get an accurate count of missions flown by the aircraft (it was rumored to have been transferred from another group), we decided to paint a generous amount. When the painter was finished there were 117 bomb markers painted on the aircraft. (Historical note: There isn't a record of this a/c being transferred from another group, however 117 missions was probably not far off the mark. "What's Cookin' Doc" had been with the 466th BG since June 1944 and over that span the group had flown 180 combat missions. It's reasonable to expect that "Doc" flew at least 117 of those.) The 1 June date was changed to 9 June 1945. The journey home consisted of four flights. The first landed at Valley, Wales where we spent the night. The next night was spent at Meeks Field in Iceland. The third night we stayed in Goose Bay, Labrador. After getting weathered in for a 2nd night at Goose Bay, we finally made it to Bradley AAF, CT on 13 June 1945. Later on at Sioux Falls, SD when we were waiting with some other 466th'ers for our next assignment, a pilot from Detroit handed me a newspaper clipping. The Ford Motor Company had gathered over 400 "war weary" bombers at Willow Run, MI for public viewing. The a/c in the clipping was none other than our "What's Cookin' Doc!" - John J. Horan |
Other Arrived in ZOI |
Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT 06096, USA | 13 June 1945 | |
Died |
Wauconda, IL, USA | 8 June 2015 | John J. Horan, 92, a resident of Ingleside since 1982, at rest Monday, June 8, 2015. He was a WWII heavy bomber pilot in the Mighty Eighth Air Force, serving in the 466th bomb group, based in Attlebridge England, and flew many B-24 combat missions over Germany and the rest of Europe. Cherished husband of the late Irene (nee Swiatecki); beloved brother-in-law of Elsie Swiatecki; loving uncle of Susan (Michael) Pitt; dear great uncle of Kim (Eric) Best, Mike (Ashley) Pitt, and Chris (Courtney) Pitt; fond great great uncle of Grayson and Bronwyn Pitt |
Buried |
Ingleside, IL 60041, USA | 11 June 2015 | Grant Cemetery Ingleside Lake County Illinois, USA |
Chicago, IL, USA | 3238 W. Cullom Avenue |
Revisions
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL by Wassom & Brassfield, page 346