James L Monahan
Military
Pilot
458th BG - 752nd BS
Object Number - UPL 36617 - 1LT James L. Monahan Pilot 458th BG - 752nd BS
Shot down 20 July 1944 in B-24 #42-95117, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
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: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-703416
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier; Navigator, Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19094031
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA | 21 November 1920 | |
|
Enlisted |
Providence, Rhode Island | 15 March 1941 | |
|
Other 458th BG Combat Tour |
Horsham St. Faith Airfield, UK | 28 May 1944 - 20 July 1944 | shot down on his 14th combat mission |
|
Other POW |
Stalag Luft III, Zagan, Poland | 20 July 1944 - 1 May 1945 | Stalag Luft III |
|
Died |
Essex Junction, Vermont | 25 March 2003 | |
|
Other Shot down/Captured |
near Diest, Netherlands | 20 July 1944 | On July 20th, the crew boarded that aircraft for what would turn out to be their final mission to bomb an aircraft factory near Eisenach, Germany. Details are sketchy, but from the crew statements on the Missing Air Crew Report, it seems the general consensus (at least for the crew) was that the, “No. 1 engine exploded”. One crew member stated that the, “…plane lost flying ability” and they were forced to bail out. All ten made it out of the plane, but S/Sgt Kenneth Kenyon’s “…parachute either failed to open or he waited too long to open it”. Two of the crew, pilot Monahan and navigator Gordon Morehead, were captured immediately by the Germans. Both Holcomb and Spence saw their capture. Medley, Peterson and Knee evaded successfully and were back in the UK in early September. Joining them about the same time, but on a much more circuitous route, were Holcomb and Spence. Initially these two men and bombardier William Baer evaded capture for several weeks, until they were betrayed to the Gestapo by infiltrators in the Belgian Underground. After spending time in St. Gilles prison the men were to be relocated. William Baer was not among the enlisted men loaded on a train with a number of other Allied airmen and political prisoners. |
Revisions
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7255 / MACR 7255 & Page 279 of the book LIBERATORS OVER NORWICH by Mackay, Bailry & Scorza, 2010, D790G4582010 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
