Joseph Alfred Melin
Military
Ball Turret Gunner
Crew # 609 Leo Mower Crew &
Crew # 631 Richmond Wollstein Crew
Dale Melin (son of Joseph A. Melin)
Object Number - UPL 26343 - SSGT Joseph A. Melin Ball Turret Gunner Crew # 609 Leo Mower Crew & Crew # 631 Richmond Wollstein Crew
Assigned to 786BS, 466BG 8AF USAAF. Leo Mower crew. Injured hand prior to 21-Jun-44 mission, thereby missing being interned in Sweden with his crew. Shot down by flak and crashed at Orival on 13-Aug-44 in B-24 'Wild Pussy' 42-52529, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR
Awards: AM (3OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
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
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-692597
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Wild-Pussy/Sully's Saloon
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
St Peter, MN 56082, USA | 12 October 1914 | |
|
Enlisted |
St Paul, MN | 7 May 1942 | Fort Snelling, Minnesota |
|
Other 466th BG Combat Tour |
Attlebridge | 23 March 1944 - 13 August 1944 | |
|
Other Shot Down/Captured |
76500 Orival, France | 13 August 1944 | Shot Down / Captured. |
|
Other Discharged USAAF |
19 September 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
|
Died |
Milpitas, CA | 28 January 1978 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Mühlberg, Germany | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag 4B Muhlberg Sachsen 51-13 |
Revisions
Added POW camp info to the POW event from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7912 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
