John Virgil Colson

Military

25 missions. Shot down 30 November 1944 in B-24 #4251272. Prisoner of War (POW).



AM/ PH/ POW

Connections

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Units served with

A flight of B-24 Liberators of the 446th Bomb Group fly in formation above the clouds.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 446th Bomb Group 706th Bomb Squadron

Places

Aerial photograph of Bungay (Flixton) airfield, looking south, the technical site- with T2 hangar- and control tower are to the right, where the main airfield gate is also situated, 16 October 1945. Photograph taken by No. 541 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/930. English Heritage (RAF Photography).
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Flixton

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Folkston, Georgia 22 March 1919
Mount Berry, Georgia 16 October 1940 Student at Berry College

Other

Shot Down/WIA/Captured

Neunkirchen, Germany 30 November 1944 November 30: Neunkirchen, Saarland, Germany The marshalling yards were bombed through solid cloud cover. A plane 42-51272 received a direct flak hit in it's bomb bay, split in 2, and crashed. The pilot was blown free by the explosion and parachuted safely to the ground where he was taken prisoner, but the other 10 crewmen were killed. Another unnamed plane (42-51115) was severely damaged by debris from the explosion of the first. One crewman was killed by the debris, another bailed out but died later. The remaining 8 bailed out and landed safely in Allied occupied territory.

Died

Columbia, South Carolina 22 July 2002 The REV. J. VIRGIL COLSON, 83, of Columbia, S.C., formerly of Jacksonville, Fla., and Honolulu, died July 22, 2002. Born in Folkston, Ga. Decorated B-24 pilot and prisoner of war; former pastor of Pali View Baptist church, Kane'ohe; Liberia, West Africa, missionary associate. Survived by wife, Grace Bishop Colson; sons, Charles, John and Carey; brother, Wilton; sisters, Margaret Gray and Ginger Horne; six grandchildren.

Buried

Folkston, Georgia 25 July 2002 Sardis Cemetery Folkston, Charlton County, Georgia, USA

Other

POW

Barth, Germany Stalag Luft I

Revisions

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self, MACR 11148