John R Sole
Military ROLL OF HONOURKilled in Action (KIA) 21 April 1945 in AC #4463712.
AM w/ 6 Oak Leaf Cluster/ PH
78th FG 84th FS. Lt Sole from Clarksburg, W.Va., was KIA on 21st April 1945. Eye witness account of his crash is from the 78th FG records, ‘ “We went down to tree-top level on our way out, trying to get under the weather and find an aerodrome for Lt. Sole whose aircraft was low on gas,. The weather was very poor – rain and thunderstorms, very limited visibility and a ceiling of 2,000 ft.
West of Koblenz, we came to a solid front of thunderstorms and the ceiling and visibility became zero. Because the country was very hilly and heavily wooded I led my flight up through the front to 13,000 feet. Lt Sole called about this time, 1340 hours, saying, “Shampoo Leader (Capt Ledington). I have just hit a tree and my left wing is badly damaged.” Capt Ledington did not answer this call so I called Lt Sole, telling him to take a 180 degree turn and start climbing until he ran out of gas and then either bail out or belly in. Lt Sole said, “Roger”. I estimate that Lt Sole had about 10 minutes of gas left at this time. I tried to contact both Lt Sole and Capt Ledington after that, but neither answered me.” ‘
Lt Sole bailed out at about 300 feet, but his parachute did not open in time.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Nicknames: Flyn Time Bomb
- Unit: 78th Fighter Group 84th Fighter Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
21 April 1945 | ||
Born |
West Virginia | ||
Buried |
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Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
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Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Germany | 21 April 1945 | |
Enlisted |
Revisions
78th Fighter Group Narrative 0787 April 1945 Capt Bowen I Hosford, Air Corps Historian
ABMC, MACR 14122 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 14122 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list