John Marcus Kendrick Jr

Military
media-32090.jpeg UPL 32090 John Marcus Kendrick

personal collection

Object Number - UPL 32090 - John Marcus Kendrick

Joined the US Army Aug. 1939. Served in US Army 35th Infantry band & orchestra, Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, stationed there when Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Began aviation training summer '42, final Phase 2, B24 bomber training at Pueblo, CO. Sent to ETO: Based at Hethel, England (8th AF, 389BG, 564th BS), began flying missions 6 FEB.44. On 11th & final mission, 8 MARCH 44, hit by flak over Berlin, limped B24 as far as Eernewoude, Friesland, Netherlands (near Leeuwarden). During emergency landing, inadvertently hit windmill, fatally injuring co-pilot Steve Judd, Kendrick severely injured, later lost both legs as a result. Captured by Germans, hospitalized at Luftwaffe base at Leeuwarden, other 9 crew members escaped unharmed into Dutch resistance network, several captured later in Belguim. Kendrick later relocated to POW hospitals in Oberursel & Obermassfeld / Meiningen, Germany, Reserve-Lazaret Stalag IX-C. Repatriated to USA via Switzerland, early 1945. Discharged from service, Feb. 1947.



Passed Mississippi State Bar examinations, Sept. 1949. Appointed as Postmaster, Edwards, Mississippi, Dec. 1949. Resigned as Postmaster, Aug. 1955, married Newelyn Walton, Sept. 1955 & moved to St. Petersburg, FL. Moved back to MS & struggled with federal bureaucracy as a handicapped person trying to secure a good job. Father of four children; Pam, Melissa, Victoria and John Marcus Kendrick III. Granted temporary job & eventually permanent position as rural mail carrier in Edwards, MS, Sept. 1959.

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Units served with

The insignia of the 389th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner
Back row: John Kendrick, Steve Judd, Allen Seamans, Robert Owen. Front row: John Owens, William Mineer, Stanley Stanczkiewicz, Frank Kettner, James Graham, Robert Sherman. United States Army Air Corps, Four Engine Bomber Training, Pueblo, Colorado, 1943.
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33476931
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-683019
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Back row: John Kendrick, Steve Judd, Allen Seamans, Robert Owen. Front row: John Owens, William Mineer, Stanley Stanczkiewicz, Frank Kettner, James Graham, Robert Sherman. United States Army Air Corps, Four Engine Bomber Training, Pueblo, Colorado, 1943.
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
William Mineer, Dutch Resistance photo
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35670530
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Yankee Rebel Harmony; The Latrine Rumor
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Edwards, MS 39066, USA 8 July 1921 - 19 October 1969 briefly lived in St. Petersburg, Florida after marriage in the 1950's

Born

Edwards, MS 39066, USA 8 July 1921

Enlisted

Mississippi, USA 4 August 1939 Army basic training possibly at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Later assigned to Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii. Applied for Aviation Cadet school 30 April, 1942.

Enlisted

Douglas, AZ 85607, USA 12 April 1943 Promoted to Flight Officer while training at advanced flying school.

Died

Edwards, MS 39066, USA 19 October 1969 Died at home as a result of a ruptured abdominal aorta. Buried in Edwards Town Cemetery.www.findagrave.com/memorial/187937966/john-marcus-kendrick

Revisions

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Contributorrcmobley
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United States Army Air Corps, Four Engine Bomber Training, Pueblo, Colorado, 1943.

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added a "O-" to the S/N to aid clarity & consistency.

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family records

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Official military & family records

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Data gleaned from official military records & family documents.

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family documents

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family documents

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Family documents

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MACR

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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2958, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces & Page 315 in the book SECOND AIR DIVISION by Turner Publishing Co 1998 edition, D790.A2S45

John Marcus Kendrick: Gallery (2 items)