James Patrick Sullivan

Military
media-33777.jpeg UPL 33777 Second page of letter sent to my father (Stanley Vitkavage, the pilot) with a request for him to contact all of the next of kin of his crew on the flight that was shot down over Germany on 27 Feb 1945. Stanley Vitkavage Collection

Original military records from my father's personal collection

Object Number - UPL 33777 - Second page of letter sent to my father (Stanley Vitkavage, the pilot) with a request for him to contact all of the next of kin of his crew on the...

James Sullivan was Co-Pilot on board of B-24 42-51506 on the 27 February 1945 mission to the Halle Marshalling Yards, Germany. Crashed Betzenhausen, 1,5km NW of Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).

From the biography of his father, John Jeremiah "Lefty" Sullivan (1894-1958), baseball player,

at : https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/22fde3cf

* "He and his wife, Anna, were still struggling to begin their family, having lost their first four children in infancy to lung and heart problems. The couple were heartbroken, but their devout Catholic faith helped them persevere. In 1922 a healthy son was finally born, named James Patrick."

* "In 1945, his son James – a former football player at Marquette University who later married his college sweetheart, Mary Claire, and became a steelworker – was shot down over Germany on a bombing mission while serving in the 8th Air Force during World War II. He was liberated from a prisoner-of-war camp after several months."

Connections

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Units served with

A pathfinder B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51681) of the 453rd Bomb Group flies in formation with a fellow Liberator of the 453rd and and a pathfinder Liberator of the 445th Bomb Group. Image via Alan Rowsell.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39911604
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33728946
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35331002
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-2072788
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator / Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36758482
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 701st Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Signal Squares on the airfield at Tibenham, B-24 Liberators of the 398th Bomb Group are visible in the background. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Tibenham Signal Squares.'
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Tivetshall

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

captured

27 February 1945 in the immediate vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, after he baled out of B-24 42-51506

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

27 February 1945 Interned in Germany. NARA WWII POW records : “Returned October to Military Control on 17 October 1945.”

Born

Chicago, Illinois, USA the son of John Jeremiah Sullivan and his wife Anna

Enlisted

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

From the biography of his father, John Jeremiah "Lefty" Sullivan (1894-1958), baseball player,
at : https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/22fde3cf
* "He and his wife, Anna, were still struggling to begin their family, having lost their first four children in infancy to lung and heart problems. The couple were heartbroken, but their devout Catholic faith helped them persevere. In 1922 a healthy son was finally born, named James Patrick."
* "In 1945, his son James – a former football player at Marquette University who later married his college sweetheart, Mary Claire, and became a steelworker – was shot down over Germany on a bombing mission while serving in the 8th Air Force during World War II. He was liberated from a prisoner-of-war camp after several months."

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 12778
NARA WWII POW records
WWII Draft cards

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Birsic MACR 12778 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

James Patrick Sullivan: Gallery (2 items)