1st Lieutenant Joseph Dale O'meara was a B-24 navigator, in the 8th Air Force, the 376th Bomb Group, and the 515th bomb Squadron, TDY to the 9th Air force in Benghazi, Libya. He was killed in action (KIA) on his B-24D Liberator Bomber, 41-11603, Malicious, on a mission to Messina, Sicily. His aircraft was hit by two direct flak rounds destroying two engines. The aircraft was, then, attacked by German fighters and, after a running gun battle, it's pilot, Major John Toomey was forced to make a water ditching into the Tyrrhenian Sea, twenty miles off the coast of Messina, Sicily. Crewmen in other aircraft in the area saw four to six men evacuate the plane into life rafts, but subsequent rescue flights were unable to locate the men. Maj. Toomey, Lt O'Meara, and their crew were all listed as Missing In Action, MIA. Jan, 31, 1943.
Lost Jan 31,1943. ITA - Pilot Maj. John M. Toomey - Navigator Lt. Joseph O'Meara - 515th Bomb Squadron - MACR 3304
Because his body was never recovered, Lt. O'Meara is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing.

Lt. O'Meara received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

Joseph O'Meara is also memorialized in Woodlawn Cemetery in Wadsworth Ohio.

Service

Events

Event	Location	Date
Born	Ohio, USA	1917
Lived in	Medina, OH 44256, USA	1941
Enlisted	Columbus, OH, USA	15 March 1941
Fort Hays
Died	Messina, Province of Messina, Italy	31 January 1943
On January 31, 1943, O'Meara was navigator on B-24D #41-11603 named 'Malicious', assigned to the 9th Air Force, 376th Bombardment Group, 513th Bombardment Squadron. Malicious was the lead plane on a combat mission to bomb Messina Harbor in Sicily. Two engines were knocked out of commission by anti-aircraft artillery, but they stayed on their bomb run and hit their target. They were then set upon by German fighter planes and after a running battle, were forced to make a water crash landing into the Tyrrhenian Sea, twenty miles off the coast of Messina, Sicily. Crewmen in other aircraft saw four to six men evacuate the plane into life rafts, but subsequent rescue flights were unable to locate the men. Because his body was never recovered, he's memorialized on the Wall of the Missing. O'Meara received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. O'Meara is also memorialized in Woodlawn Cemetery in Wadsworth Ohio.
Buried
Tablets of The Missing North Africa American Cemetery Tunis, Tunisia