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Personal info

Full name
DUNN, John Bernard Jr
Date of birth
8 July 1919
Age
24
Place of birth
Metuchen, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Hometown
Middlesex County, New Jersey

Military service

Service number
O-690067
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Co-Pilot
Unit
612th Bombardment Squadron,
401st Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
19 May 1944
Place of death
Professor-Peters-Platz
Kiel, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Plot Row Grave
B 35 44

Immediate family

Members
John B. Dunn (father)
Mary L. Dunn (mother)
Margaret Dunn (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-38026
Data
Nickname: My Day
Type: B-17G
Destination: Berlin, Germany
MACR: 4815

More information

The 401st furnished the lead and high box of the 94th Combat Wing. The original target was Berlin, but either heavy cloud cover or failure to rendezvous with fighter escort (the accounts differ) resulted in bombing the secondary target, the port area of Kiel. Bombing was done by PFF (radar), but through breaks in the clouds bomb bursts were observed in the industrial section along the Kiel Canal. No enemy aircraft were sighted. Flak, while meager, was unusually accurate. The plane was hit and exploded in midair, killing 9 crew members. One crew member was taken prisoner.

The remains of the killed crew members were buried at the Garrison Military Cemetery of Kiel on 25 May 1944.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Michel Beckers, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.fold3.com - MACR, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: Jac Engels, www.remember-our-heroes.nl - Andy Swinnen