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name
NOSTIN, John - Date of
birth
4 January 1918 -
Age
27 - Place of
birth
New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut -
Hometown
New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31042725 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
550th Bombardment Squadron,
385th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
2 March 1945 - Place of
death
Near Fichtenberg-Mühlberg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Nicholas Nostin (father)
Catherine (Kaetyk) Nostin (mother)
Mary Nostin (sister)
Andrew Nostin (brother)
Anna Nostin (sister)
Michael A. Nostin (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-8417 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Dresden, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 12858
More information
John Nostin enlisted in Hartford, Connecticut on 24 March 1941.The aircraft was hit by enemy aircraft cannon fire, fell back of the formation, and blew up almost immediately.
Eight crew members survived and were taken prisoner; Sgt Nostin was the only casualty. After the surviving crew members were captured and taken to a nearby town, the body of Sgt Nostin arrived in a truck. One crew member asked if he could examine the body. He couldn't find any visible wounds, but he looked as if he had been dragged across the ground and hit something, and had broken his neck. The wind at surface level that day was about fifty miles per hour, and all crew members had trouble collapsing their parachutes. His conclusion was that Sgt Nostin must have been caught by this wind while still attached to his parachute. He was initially buried at the military cemetery of Zeithain, Germany.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR / WWII Draft Card, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.ancestry.com - John Nostin