John Harley Combs Jr

Military

Shot down 25 April 1944 in B-24 #42-52335 'Admirable Little Character'. Prisoner of War (POW). Ended his military career as a Colonel in the US Air Force.

Connections

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Units served with

Personnel of the 458th Bomb Group gather around a B-24 Liberator (serial number 41-29303) nicknamed "Liberty Lib" in order to transfer a casualty into a waiting ambulance. Image via Harry Holmes. Written on slide casing: '458th BG.'

458th Bomb Group

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

People

Robert Otto Behrens

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36435582
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator / Gunner

Charles George Bieber

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-688166
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Eugene Maurice Hoag

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16057259 at enlistment, then O-682183
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Jacob Elliott Maze

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 466th Bomb Group 93rd Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17087390 at enlistment in 1942; the O-......
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Richard Oren McCarthy

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32745523
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

42-52335

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Admirable Little Character
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

22 December 1921 St Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, United States

Enlisted

29 May 1942 Birmingham, Alabama

Other

Bailed out of

25 April 1944 from B-24 # 42-52335 "Admirable Little Character"; landed near Ponthion (Marne), France

Other

Prisoner Of War (POW)

25 April 1944 Interned at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Force-marched from there to Stalag 7A Moosburg, Germany and liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. NARA WWII POW database: "Returned to military control 16 May 1945."

Died

13 August 1998 Tallahassee, Florida
Homewood, Jefferson County, Alabama

Buried

John Combs rests at Culley's Meadow Wood Memorial Park in Tallahassee, Florida

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
WWII Draft Card
Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 4342

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4342 / MACR 4342 & Page 274 of the book LIBERAORS OVER NORWICH by Mackay, Bailry & Scorza, 2010, D790G4582010 &

href="http://www.458bg.com/crew44combs.htmhttp:/www.458bg.com/crew44combs.htm">http://www.458bg.com/crew44combs.htmhttp://www.458bg.com/crew44combs.ht…; / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database