We are currently working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September 2022
You will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive while this takes place.
You can find out more about our plans here
Military
The B-24D, 42-40608, The Vulgar Virgin, with Lt. Claude A. Turner, SSgt Robert E. Geiss, SSgt. John P. Rudell, and crew, flew on Operation Tidal Wave to Ploesti, Romania, - Interned in Turkey. 1 Aug 43
The B-24D, 41-23661, Black Jack, one of two B-24Ds, named, Back Jack. This one, 41-23661, was from the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, shown with the vertical fin markings of a fin robbed from, Valient Virgin, from the 8th Air Force, with, Valient Virgin' s olive drab painted tail fin and it's (hidden in this photo) abbreviated serial number, This fin was, apparently, robbed from the, Valient Virgin, for installation on, Black Jack. August 5-7, 1943, when these color photos were taken.
SSGT John Peter Rudell
BIRTH : 28 Dec 1917 - Wausau, Wisconsin - USA
DEATH : 19 May 1992 - Age 74 - Grass Valley, California, USA
BURIAL : Pine Grove Cemetery Wausau, Wisconsin, USA
MEMORIAL ID : 126371114 · View Source
Staff Sergeant John Rudell was assigned to the 328th Bomb Squadron, the 93rd Bomb Group, in the 8th Air Force, USAAF. He was on TDY to the 9th Air Force in Benghazi, Libya, in North Africa. He flew on Operation Tidal Wave to Ploesti, Romania, and was interned in Turkey after the mission, with his pilot, Lt. Claude A. Turner, and crew, in the B-24D, 42-40608, named, The Vulgar Virgin. 1 Aug 43.
Awards: DFC - PH - WWII Victory - EAME
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | B-24 Navigator | 93rd Bomb Group
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...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Lt. Claude A. Turner was born in Travis Peak, Texas, on Oct 22, 1919. He trained as an aviation pilot at Kelly Field and other air bases in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. After receiving his pilot's wings, Turner was assigned to the 8th Air Force,...
Group
The 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1 Mar 42 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15 May 42. the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, to continue advanced flight training and also to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico. They...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
NOTE - The B-24D, named, The Vulgar Virgin, 42-40608, was originally in the 8th Air Force, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bomb Squadron. It was temporarily detached (TDY) to the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron, in...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Wausau, Marathon, WI | 28 December 1917 |
|
Son of Henry and Elizabeth [Horn] Rudell. |
||
| Enlisted | Milwaukee, WI | 6 June 1942 |
|
Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
||
| Hospitalised | Egypt | August 1943 |
|
Left tibia fractured, shrapnel. |
||
| Interned | 1 August 1943 | |
| Based | 1944 – 1945 | |
|
Assigned to 328BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Discharged USAAF | 26 August 1945 | |
|
Honourable discharge. |
||
| Died | Grass Valley, CA | 19 May 1992 |
| Buried | Pine Grove Cemetery Wausau, Marathon County, WI | 22 May 1992 |
|
Pine Grove Cemetery |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 21 October 2021 22:16:15 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 42-40608 - The Vulgar Virgin |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 21:50:09 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Find A Grave Memorials - John Peter Rudell |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 October 2021 21:38:36 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, role, biography and awards |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 42-40608 - The Valient Virgin |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 December 2020 16:03:49 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events, person associations and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/686768041 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 September 2019 14:22:38 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to events and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:16:02 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol I p. 221 |
||
