Lt. James E. Marquis was born on February 6, 1922. After completing his navigator flight training in the U.S. Lt. Marquis, was assigned to the 8th Air Force, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bomb Squadron in the United Kingdom, and was temporarily detached, TDY, to the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 343rd Bomb Squadron for Operation Tidal Wave, the large bombing mission on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania, 1 Aug 1943. He was the navigator on his B-24D Liberator bomber, 42-40608, The Vulgar Virgin, with his pilot, Lt. Claude A. Turner, and flew on a number of combat missions in early 1943 in the MTO area after arriving in North Africa and being temporarily transferred, TDY, to the 9th Air Force at Benghazi, Libya. On every mission, Lt. Marquis' B-24 aircraft returned to base damaged with multiple flak hits.



Lt. Marquis flew with his command pilot, Lt. Claude Turner and Lt. Robert Geiss on, The Vulgar Virgin, on Operation Tidal Wave, the large bombing mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. 1 Aug 43. On the Ploesti mission, on his approach to his target, White IV, Marquis' B-24D took two direct hits by flak. Knowing his crippled ship could not make it all the way home, Lt. Marquis navigated, The Vulgar Virgin, south to Chorlu, Turkey, where Claude Turner, his copilot Lt. Robert Geiss, and crew landed safely. Marquis' bomber, The Vulgar Virgin, 42-40608, and the entire crew, were interned in Turkey by the Turkish Air Force after the Ploesti mission. Lt. Marquis earned the Distinguished Flying Cross on the Ploesti mission, as did all of the air crewmen who flew on the mission. 10 INT. 1 Aug 1943

After being in captivity for a short time, Lt. Marquis and Lt. Turner made a harrowing escape from Turkish captivity and, with the help of friendly partisans, they both returned to duty in England. (RTD).



Lt. Robert Marquis' two pilots, Claude Turner, Robert Geiss, and all of his crewmen on, The Vulgar Virgin, were later shot down and killed in action (KIA) over Germany in the B-24D, Birmingham Blitzkrieg.



Lt. Marquis survived World War II and retired from the USAF in 1960 with the rank of Lt. Col. He died on November 10, 1994.



Awards:



Distinguished Flying Cross with an Oak leaf Cluster - Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters - WWII Victory Medal - European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 battle stars - WWll Victory Medal