John P Bruce
MilitaryShot down over Holland on 30 July 1943 in B-17 #41-23499 'Man-O-War'. Mission was Kassel. Prisoner of War (POW). 'Man-O-War' was hit and limped along behind the formation until attacked by 2 fighters which killed two of the crew. Eight chutes came out of the doomed Fortress. The fighters curved around and fired into the canopies. Five men were slaughtered as they hung helplessly in their harnesses and a sixth, navigator Robert Duggan, had his chute riddled. He plunged down and hit a cottage roof, smashed through it and fatally struck his head on a beam. Two survivors: Pilot 2nd Lt. Keene McCammon landed in the river Waal and Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. John P. Bruce landed nearby. The plane crashed to earth near the village of Opijen, Holland and it was here that the bodies of the eight crewmen were buried. These graves remained there as a result of persuasion by the villagers, their white marble headstones regularly tended and honored by the local people. [from PLANE NAMES & FANCY NOSES]
PH
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Man O War
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Bessemer, Alabama, USA | ||
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 30 July 1943 | Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia Bavaria (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser) 49-11 |
Revisions
Added POW Camp info to the POW event from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added an association to Stalag Luft 3 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 148 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, MACR 148