John Shaljean

Military

Shot down 4 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24593 'El Lobo' while serving as Bombardier. Prisoner of War (POW). Target was Hamm, but aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with a German FW 190 and crashed in tidal land at Filsum/Ostfriesland near Leer, Germany. 6 crew members were killed and 4 became Prisoner of War (POW)s. He was at Stalag 3. Behind the Wire states that as the a/c broke apart, Shaljean was thrown from the plane unconscious. He regained consciousness in the air and opened his chute. He had been hurt as a 20MM fragment had imbedded in his head. He was captured immediately.



POW, Air Medal, Purple Heart

Connections

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Units served with

Unofficial emblem, 305th Bomb Group.

305th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

41-24593

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: El Lobo
  • Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Stockton, California 17 November 1917

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Zagan, Poland 4 February 1943 - 3 July 1945 Held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia (now Poland) moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 3-Jul-45.

Revisions

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 28-Jan-2015. Added decorations and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database Added SN per MACR 15395; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited Biography, added crew position and crash location to Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, MACR 15395, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop and Hey, p .73 and picture taken at Stalag 3 on p. 83, WWII National Monument web site entry by his sister, NARA enlistment records, Behind the Wire Stalag Loft III South Compound by