Skip to main content
Edit entry 

John Lynn Boomer

Military

Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41024503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).

Service

People

  • Phillip Baxter

    Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Navigator. Killed in Action (KIA). ...

  • Louis Emerson

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • John Hemingway

    Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier, Bombardier; Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Bombardier. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Fidel Hernandez

    Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner Flew in lead group to attack St. Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Duane Jones

    Military | Captain | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Alvy Masters

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Radio Operator. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Joseph Medved

    Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Tail Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • Harold Smelser

    Military | Major | Command Pilot, Pilot, Mission | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as the mission Command Pilot for 91BG on the mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • George Wahl

    Military | Captain | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Co-Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA). Crashed into sea

  • Doyt Watson

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).

Show more

Units served with

  • 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars

    91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars

    Group
    The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...

  • 324th Bomb Squadron

    324th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron
    Home of the Memphis Belle

Aircraft

  • 41-24503 Pandora's Box

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    B-17F 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' assigned 324BS/91BG [DF-E] Bangor 30-August-42; Bassingbourn 29-September-42; Missing in Action 23-Nov-42 while flying as Group Lead on mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St Nazaire, France. Enemy aircraft shot out #3,...

Missions

  • VIII Bomber Command 23

    23 November 1942
    The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are the Primary (P) for this mission. A combined force of 50 B-17s despatched from 91BG (10), 303BG (12), 305BG (20) and 306BG (8) to attack this target. 91BG is not able to put any of their group on the target,...

Associated Place

  • Bassingbourn

    Military site : airfield
    Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...

  • Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial

    Cemetery

Events

Event Location Date
Killed in Action (KIA) Île d'Houat, France 23 November 1942

Killed when aircraft was attacked by German fighters and crashed into the sea near the Ile d'Houat, France. His remains were never recovered.
Commemorated Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK 1945

Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery.
Nationality
American
Nickname
Not yet known
Service numbers
36305914
Highest rank
Sergeant
Role/job
Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner
Awards
  • Air Medal
  • Purple Heart

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
26 February 2018 14:27:49 ED-BB Changes to middlename and person associations
Sources

completed middle name & connected with other crew members
Date Contributor Update
30 November 2014 20:36:12 Lee8thbuff Changes to events
Sources

Lee Cunningham 30-Nov-2014. Added KIA event per MACR 16162; added Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record.
Date Contributor Update
05 November 2014 21:54:33 Lee8thbuff Changes to service number, biography, awards, events, place associations and mission associations
Sources

Lee Cunningham 5-Nov-2014. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 16162; American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:16:21 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 16162 / MACR 16162, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. One by Bishop and Hey, p. 48 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Share