Gerald Winston Johnston
Military ROLL OF HONOURTop row, from left to right :
1st Lt Gerald W. Johnston; 1st Lt Matthew R. Robinson, Co-Pilot; 1st Lt Donald L. Lash, Navigator; 1st Lt Frank D. O’Neill, Bombardier.
Front row, left to right : T/Sgt Russell P. Hardy, Top Turret Gunner; T/sgt William J. Parks, Radio Operator; S/Sgt Ben Marshall, Ball Turret Gunner; S/Sgt Dayton C. Kelly, Waist Gunner and S/Sgt James S. Lawman, Tail Gunner.
NARA WWII Air Force photos - B-71195A.C.
Gerald Johnston was Pilot of B-17 "Bob Tail Battler" #42-102677. Crashed at Garlitz, Germany on 14 January 1945. Killed In Action (KIA).
Connections
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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: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35790365
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18124447
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19151210 at enlistment, then O-723383
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35752433
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18135419
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Mississippi Mission, Bob Tail Battler
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 14 January 1945
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
3 May 1923 | Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama, United States | |
Enlisted |
19 September 1942 | Jackson, Mississippi | |
Other Killed In Action (KIA) |
14 January 1945 | near Garlitz, 15km North of Brandenburg, Germany, in the crash of B-17 #42-102677 | |
Buried |
17 January 1945 | Garlitz cemetery, 15km NE of Brandeburg, Germany | |
Summit, Pike County, Mississippi | |||
Buried |
after the war, his remains were brought back to the USA. Gerald Johnston rests at the Mobile National Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama (Section 7, Site 2212) |
Revisions
MACR 11725
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
NARA - German captured documents : KU-3569 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147911915
VA Gravesite Locator
Added birth info to the Born event per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 59330453.
Added a Buried event per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 59330453.
Changed the "Summary biography" to reflect the fact that he was KIA and not taken POW (See Find-a-grave Memorial ID 59330453).
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11725 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database