John McCormick
Military | Captain | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down 18 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40787 'Vagabond King'. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
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Military
Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1921, he enlisted in the Army in Aug. 1942. Despite surviving the harrowing Ploesti raid in August 1943, he was shot down on 18 November 1943 while a gunner on the B-24 "Vagabond King" (42-40787). He was killed when his plane crashed into North Sea.
"Staff Sergeant William J. Budai grew up at 324 Craig St. in Toledo (corner of Craig and Valentine Sts., Birmingham Hungarian neighborhood), he attended Waite High School as part of the class of 1938, where he played in the band. William went to work as a sweeper at National Milling Co. on Front St. before enlisting in the Army on August 25, 1942 in Toledo. ... William was assigned as a turret gunner on John McCormick’s plane which was called the 'Vagabond King'." During the Ploesti mission he served as a waist gunner. The ship was badly damaged and headed for Cyprus. Budai's luck ran out on 18 November 1943 when his plane crashed into the North Sea resulting in his death.
Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016).
Military | Captain | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down 18 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40787 'Vagabond King'. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
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Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
B-24D Liberator #42-40787 "Vagabond King" was in the 565th Bombing Squadron, the 389th Bombing Group, the 8th Air Force. It flew on 1st Aug, 1943 on Operation Tidal Wave, to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, piloted by John B McCormick....
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
18 November 1943
The German airfield of Oslo/Kjeller, Norway is the target for a force of 102 B-24s from 2nd Bomb Division that included: 44BG (34); 93BG (20); 389BG (26); and 392BG (22). 82 aircraft are effective on the target. 9 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) 61KIA...
Military site : airfield
Event | Location | Date |
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Born | Toledo, Ohio, USA | 5 July 1921 |
Enlisted | Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. | 25 August 1942 |
War Experiences Related in Journals | 1 August 1943 | |
Concerning the Ploesti Mission: "The last bombs of Tidal Wave were deposited on the powerhouse and boiler of Steaua Romana by Vagabond King, piloted by John McCormick. Toledoan William J. Budai was a waist gunner on this ship. The ship took a beating from anti-aircraft fire over the target, but they barreled through the smoke and flames. Vagabond King bombed amidst exploding kettles and the crumble and crash of a high smokestack. McCormick thought 'from an esthetic point of view, the best thing was incendiaries flickering up and down in the smoke like fireflies.' Looking back, his tail gunner saw the 45 second delay bombs exploding and commented 'they didn't give us much time for a getaway.' After dropping their bombs and assessing the damage, McCormick remarked that he didn't know whether the crew would make it back. 'Our plane was in bad shape. We got into formation at the treetops with another wounded ship and three good ones that stayed outside to protect us, and got a heading into Cyprus'." Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016). |
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Killed in Action (KIA) | North Sea | 18 November 1943 |
Date | Contributor | Update |
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25 October 2019 12:20:37 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to events |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
17 March 2019 20:17:00 | Dieterle | Changes to mission associations |
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From the 42-40787 Aircraft page. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
17 March 2019 20:00:35 | Dieterle | Changes to events and person associations |
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Richard Dieterle, adding more material from Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016). |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
17 March 2019 19:38:53 | Dieterle | Changes to biography |
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Richard Dieterle, expanding slightly on the summary biography based on data already entered. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
17 March 2019 19:30:44 | Dieterle | Changes to events, place associations and mission associations |
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Richard Dieterle, adding more material from Dan Masters, "Dragged Through the Mouth of Hell: Toledo's Contribution to Operation Tidal Wave, August 1, 1943," Northwest Ohio History Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (October 6, 2016). |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
05 September 2017 06:34:35 | Beth Wood | Changes to events |
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Beth Wood |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
05 September 2017 06:32:40 | Beth Wood | Changes to service number |
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Beth Wood |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
05 September 2017 06:30:58 | Beth Wood | Changes to nickname and awards |
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submitted by Beth Wood for Alex and Esther Budai in remembrance of their beloved son |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:28:15 | AAM | AAM ingest |
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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2885 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |