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name
JARRELL, Jack Marlin Jr - Date of
birth
18 July 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Bishop, Nueces County, Texas -
Hometown
Bishop, Nueces County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-763211 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
485th Fighter Squadron,
370th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
15 December 1944 - Place of
death
Southeast of Wiesbaden, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Jack M. Jarrell (father)
Evilla Jarrell (mother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-67940 -
Data
Type: P-38J
Nickname: My Little Pig
Destination: Wiesbaden, Germany
Mission: Armed reconnaissance
MACR: 10982
More information
Jack Jarrell attended college.He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in San Antonio, Texas on 11 September 1942.
Statement of 2nd Lt W.W. Morrison, who flew in the same mission: "The 485th Fighter Squadron went down on some Me 109's. We dove from 23,000 feet to the deck. There was a dogfight, which lasted about 15 minutes. Just as the squadron was reforming, I noticed a ship just starting to feather his left prop. I tacked onto his wing. His left engine was trailing a small streamer of white smoke, wich steadily grew thicker and darker. After about five minutes, flame broke out, and Lt Jarrell started to bail out. The ship went into a spin to the right. I saw Lt Jarrell's chute open and followed him down from about 5,000 to 2,000 feet. I saw him land in a wood, his chute hanging up on the treetops. In the dogfight, we encountered some small arms flak."
He designed the insignia for his fighter group that won over many entries, even those by Walt Disney.
He is remembered at the cemetery of Bishop, Texas.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Carla Mans, Bill Cohn (cousin), www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, “The 370th Fighter Group in World War II” by Jay Jones
Photo source: Jac Engels, Rik Verhelle, Jim Luckett, Gloria Cothern (cousin), Arie-Jan van Hees - Pilot 44-A Williams Fd Arizona