Victor Jay Guthrie
MilitaryShot down 18 April 1944 in B-17 #4237902 'Sure Thing', while serving as a Bombardier. Becoming a Prisoner of War (POW), he would survive the war.
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: O-694638
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18187769
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37544827
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37418829
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-804659
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions

- Date: 2 March 1944
- Date: 3 March 1944
- Date: 4 March 1944

- Date: 9 March 1944
- Date: 15 March 1944
Places
![A bomber crew of the 390th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress ( serial number 42-31027) nicknamed "Honey Chile" and their dog and monkey mascots "Scrappy" and "Joe". Image stamped on reverse: ‘Fox.’ [stamp], ‘passed for publication 25 Oct 1943.’ [stamp] and ‘289774.’ [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ‘AERIAL MASCOTS OF FORTRESS CREWS. PH/MoN. As frisky and friendly a pair of aerial mascots as you'll find in Britain are "Scrappy" and "Joe", pup and monkey team belonging to the](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x1/public/freeman/media-380433.jpg.webp?itok=sRxwsCYe)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Moore, Montana, USA | 17 February 1917 | |
Enlisted |
Seattle, Washington, USA | 14 March 1942 | Enlisted as an Aviation Cadet with the enlisted serial number 19094573. |
Enlisted |
26 March 1943 | Records indicate that he has two enlistment dates. This is possibly because he was an Aviation Cadet, and as such, his Cadet and Pilot training took just over a year, upon which he was briefly discharged and then immediately reinstated, but with his "Officer" serial number and rank. | |
Other Shot down |
Barnewitz, Germany | 18 April 1944 | Shot down over a mission to Oranienburg, Germany, while on B-17 42-37902, where he was the aircraft's Bombardier. |
Other Prisoner Of War |
Stalag III, Sagan, Poland | 18 April 1944 | Served roughly 7 months as a POW at Stalag III. It is highly likely that he was one of the prisoners who were liberated at Stalag VII-A in April of 1945, when the prisoners of Stalag III were transferred there. This would mean he spent almost a year as a POW. |
Died |
Portland, Oregon, USA | 4 March 2003 | |
Buried |
Riverview Abbey Mausoleum and Crematory, Portland, Oregon, USA | 4 March 2003 | |
Based |
Framlingham | Assigned to 568BS, 390BG, 8AF. |
Revisions
Correction to date of the "Prisoner of War" event.
390th Bomb Group records
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4013 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database