John L. Milliken
Sacramento, California
MILLIKEN, John L. Fearless and colorful, John L. Milliken, long time resident of Sacramento, and decorated Air Force World War II veteran, has died, peacefully at home, after a long illness, on September 6, 2005. He is survived by his three children and step-daughter: John Milliken, Jr., of Westlake Village, CA; Tom Milliken, of Santa Barbara, CA; April Milliken, of Los Angeles, CA and; Carolyn Beatty, of Sacramento, CA.
Born on July 4th, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, John was the oldest child of John C. Milliken, World War I veteran and graduate of Harvard University in 1913, and Marie De Lartigue, from the Herault region of France, who met in France during the repatriation of our soldiers after World War I.
John earned his college degree in Math and Physics from Queens College in Flushing, New York, in June 1942, at the age of 20. With World War I in progress, he immediately enlisted in the Reserve Corps, in July 1942, and married Joyce Irene Fallier (now Joyce Holsclaw of Santa Barbara, CA), mother of his three children, on December 27th, 1942.
He was called to active duty as Aviation Cadet, US Army Air Corps on January 1943 where he did his pilot training and became a Commissioned 2nd Ltd Officer and Commander of the B-24 aircraft. He piloted his own crew to England where he flew 31 missions, over occupied Europe, with the 8th Air Force. Shot down on his last mission, John and his crew parachuted out over northern occupied France where he escaped his German captors and made his way back to liberated France on foot, aided by his fluent knowledge of German and French. Listed as MIA during this time, John was found by the advancing American troops, hospitalized, and repatriated to the United States in mid 1944.
For his valiant efforts and fearless performance of his duties he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal and 3 Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Purple Heart.
Continuing his military service, stateside, he became qualified as a photo lab commander and reconnaissance and mapping pilot, while also qualifying as an instructor pilot on the B-29 Recon Unit. This led to four years, from 1946 to 1949, in occupied Japan where he was engaged by the Air Force for the Post Hostilities Mapping Program in the Far East.
Returning to Kessler AFB, in Biloxi, Mississippi in early 1950, John enrolled in the Air Force Electronics School and graduated first in his class of 20 with a rating of Electronic Counter Measure Observer, and was responsible for many of the design changes in the electronic equipment and installations of the B-36. In 1953, after finishing Air Force Single Observer School, and further advanced training at Mather Field in Sacramento, California, John resigned from the military on July 5, 1953 with the rank of Captain and ratings of Senior Pilot Observer.
Remaining in Sacramento, John became Assistant Sales Manager for V&H Motors, San Francisco, in July 1953, and in 1954, opened his own business as owner and operator of John L. Milliken, Auto Broker at 3231 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, California. He held and operated this business for over 30 years while remaining very active in the Republican Party and holding several offices on the Republican Central Committee.
In the last two weeks of his life he was surrounded by his family and closest friends and slipped quickly, and peacefully, to his end. Many thanks go to Stephanie Schroder, who remained close and faithful as his friend, and to the superb efforts of Kaiser Hospice Services. He died as he lived; a sort of “maverick,” with a special sort of character, that will never be forgotten.
A wake will be held at his property, on the Sacramento River, some time in mid to late October. Further details will be made available to those who wish to attend, by contacting April Milliken or Stephanie Schroder for details.
***
Target: Road Junctions between Le Havre and Rouen, France
MACR #8322
Mission: 13-Aug-44
Serial Number:#42-95150
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter:Bar-B,
Aircraft Name: PASSION PIT
Location: France
Cause: Flak
Crew: 10 9 POW 1POW/Ecapee
Bombing results were very good for the 25 aircraft dispatched against this target. No enemy aircraft was observed, but the flak was heavy and accurate, causing the loss of another 506th Squadron aircraft and crew.
Statements in the MACR include, “At 1321 hours, this aircraft was hit by flak. #1 and #2 engines burst into flames and it slid out of formation, under control. Nine chutes observed to open before aircraft exploded and crashed.” Six other 506th aircraft received heavy damage.”
Lt. John Milliken stated that, “Your information (MACR) is quite accurate. Our plane’s name was PASSION PIT, which was named after the basement bar of the Santa Rita hotel in Tucson, Arizona where we took our phase training. This plane had been our regular one since 14 June 1944. We had arrived on the 6th of June and were assigned this one on the 14th. It belonged to the 506th Squadron and was designated ‘B’ for Baker.
“They had raised the tour requirement to 33 missions and this one was our 31st. I found out later that they had lowered it to 31 that day. If we had returned, they would have told us it was our last mission! (Beckwith was on 30th)
“This raid required a long bomb run over, the Falaise pocket. We had three road intersections in a direct line where we were supposed to drop 1/3 of our bombs on each one to stop the Germans from escaping Patton’s pincher. It was too long and straight a run. The first flak burst did knock out both #1 & #2 engines and set us on fire. I was flying deputy group lead (#2) and had a hard time sliding out of the box without hitting others.
“We all bailed out and were captured by the Germans. I escaped that night by jumping out of a canvas-back German G.I. truck that was taking us back to Germany. I walked through the German front lines and joined the advancing Canadian 1st Army four days later.
“No one was hurt as far as I know except Larson, who suffered a wrenched back that he still has today. He escaped before the end of hostilities when he was being marched across central Europe by the Germans. Stovroff, a Jew, was beaten up and given a bad time by the S.S.
“The rest of my crew were prisoners ‘till the end of the war. They are all alive and I correspond with them occasionally.”
John McClane, a navigator on Lt. Peritti’s 68th Squadron airplane, tells his observation of this event: “The 506th Squadron was perhaps a half mile ahead of us or less. As they approached the river, very heavy and accurate flak burst in their formation. I was looking directly at it when one of their planes (Millikens) started to burn. The plane fell out of formation and the crew bailed out just in time.
“As I looked at it, the plane exploded in front of us. There was a monstrous explosion, the plane literally disintegrated before my eyes. The engines were torn from the wings and went tumbling through the sky with their props windmilling as they fell in a large non-linear arc. The wings and the fuselage and tail were torn to shreds.
“As the pieces of aluminum drifted and twisted while they fell, with each turn the sun would reflect off their surfaces back into my eyes as if they were mirrors. But the most spectacular sight was the fuel cells which had been torn from the wings. They did not explode their gasoline, but rather they burned in huge orange tongues of flames streaming out behind the cells as they fell in a wavy fashion toward the earth.
“But now we must fly straight through that same shooting gallery, and would we suffer the same fate? It was very frightening, terribly frightening, but they missed us.”
Roger Tewksbury, a flight engineer on the Firman Mack crew (506th Squadron), had the following observations: “This was my first mission. We were flying on the right side of the PASSION PIT when it was hit by the first bunch of flak. The PASSION PIT slid under our open bomb bay. I saw several chutes open and the plane go into a slow, flat spin. It leveled out just before it hit in a flat area. The right wing was sheared off and caught fire. At the time I was just wearing my parachute harness when the PASSION PIT passed under us with the left wing afire. Before the plane hit the ground, I had managed to hitch only one buckle on my chute. Needless to say, after this devastation, I wore my chute fully buckled.”
PASSION PIT Crew
1st/Lt. John L. Milliken Pilot POW, escapee, returned
William R. Manierre Co Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Robert J. Bertoli Navigator POW
2nd?Lt. Irwin J. Stovroff Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Martin W. Richard Engineer POW
T/Sgt. Kenneth E. Beckwith Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. Morris W. Larkin Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Darrell E. Larsen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Leon J. Allen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Virgil R. Guebard Gunner POW
Sacramento, California
MILLIKEN, John L. Fearless and colorful, John L. Milliken, long time resident of Sacramento, and decorated Air Force World War II veteran, has died, peacefully at home, after a long illness, on September 6, 2005. He is survived by his three children and step-daughter: John Milliken, Jr., of Westlake Village, CA; Tom Milliken, of Santa Barbara, CA; April Milliken, of Los Angeles, CA and; Carolyn Beatty, of Sacramento, CA.
Born on July 4th, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, John was the oldest child of John C. Milliken, World War I veteran and graduate of Harvard University in 1913, and Marie De Lartigue, from the Herault region of France, who met in France during the repatriation of our soldiers after World War I.
John earned his college degree in Math and Physics from Queens College in Flushing, New York, in June 1942, at the age of 20. With World War I in progress, he immediately enlisted in the Reserve Corps, in July 1942, and married Joyce Irene Fallier (now Joyce Holsclaw of Santa Barbara, CA), mother of his three children, on December 27th, 1942.
He was called to active duty as Aviation Cadet, US Army Air Corps on January 1943 where he did his pilot training and became a Commissioned 2nd Ltd Officer and Commander of the B-24 aircraft. He piloted his own crew to England where he flew 31 missions, over occupied Europe, with the 8th Air Force. Shot down on his last mission, John and his crew parachuted out over northern occupied France where he escaped his German captors and made his way back to liberated France on foot, aided by his fluent knowledge of German and French. Listed as MIA during this time, John was found by the advancing American troops, hospitalized, and repatriated to the United States in mid 1944.
For his valiant efforts and fearless performance of his duties he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal and 3 Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Purple Heart.
Continuing his military service, stateside, he became qualified as a photo lab commander and reconnaissance and mapping pilot, while also qualifying as an instructor pilot on the B-29 Recon Unit. This led to four years, from 1946 to 1949, in occupied Japan where he was engaged by the Air Force for the Post Hostilities Mapping Program in the Far East.
Returning to Kessler AFB, in Biloxi, Mississippi in early 1950, John enrolled in the Air Force Electronics School and graduated first in his class of 20 with a rating of Electronic Counter Measure Observer, and was responsible for many of the design changes in the electronic equipment and installations of the B-36. In 1953, after finishing Air Force Single Observer School, and further advanced training at Mather Field in Sacramento, California, John resigned from the military on July 5, 1953 with the rank of Captain and ratings of Senior Pilot Observer.
Remaining in Sacramento, John became Assistant Sales Manager for V&H Motors, San Francisco, in July 1953, and in 1954, opened his own business as owner and operator of John L. Milliken, Auto Broker at 3231 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, California. He held and operated this business for over 30 years while remaining very active in the Republican Party and holding several offices on the Republican Central Committee.
In the last two weeks of his life he was surrounded by his family and closest friends and slipped quickly, and peacefully, to his end. Many thanks go to Stephanie Schroder, who remained close and faithful as his friend, and to the superb efforts of Kaiser Hospice Services. He died as he lived; a sort of “maverick,” with a special sort of character, that will never be forgotten.
A wake will be held at his property, on the Sacramento River, some time in mid to late October. Further details will be made available to those who wish to attend, by contacting April Milliken or Stephanie Schroder for details.
***
Target: Road Junctions between Le Havre and Rouen, France
MACR #8322
Mission: 13-Aug-44
Serial Number:#42-95150
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter:Bar-B,
Aircraft Name: PASSION PIT
Location: France
Cause: Flak
Crew: 10 9 POW 1POW/Ecapee
Bombing results were very good for the 25 aircraft dispatched against this target. No enemy aircraft was observed, but the flak was heavy and accurate, causing the loss of another 506th Squadron aircraft and crew.
Statements in the MACR include, “At 1321 hours, this aircraft was hit by flak. #1 and #2 engines burst into flames and it slid out of formation, under control. Nine chutes observed to open before aircraft exploded and crashed.” Six other 506th aircraft received heavy damage.”
Lt. John Milliken stated that, “Your information (MACR) is quite accurate. Our plane’s name was PASSION PIT, which was named after the basement bar of the Santa Rita hotel in Tucson, Arizona where we took our phase training. This plane had been our regular one since 14 June 1944. We had arrived on the 6th of June and were assigned this one on the 14th. It belonged to the 506th Squadron and was designated ‘B’ for Baker.
“They had raised the tour requirement to 33 missions and this one was our 31st. I found out later that they had lowered it to 31 that day. If we had returned, they would have told us it was our last mission! (Beckwith was on 30th)
“This raid required a long bomb run over, the Falaise pocket. We had three road intersections in a direct line where we were supposed to drop 1/3 of our bombs on each one to stop the Germans from escaping Patton’s pincher. It was too long and straight a run. The first flak burst did knock out both #1 & #2 engines and set us on fire. I was flying deputy group lead (#2) and had a hard time sliding out of the box without hitting others.
“We all bailed out and were captured by the Germans. I escaped that night by jumping out of a canvas-back German G.I. truck that was taking us back to Germany. I walked through the German front lines and joined the advancing Canadian 1st Army four days later.
“No one was hurt as far as I know except Larson, who suffered a wrenched back that he still has today. He escaped before the end of hostilities when he was being marched across central Europe by the Germans. Stovroff, a Jew, was beaten up and given a bad time by the S.S.
“The rest of my crew were prisoners ‘till the end of the war. They are all alive and I correspond with them occasionally.”
John McClane, a navigator on Lt. Peritti’s 68th Squadron airplane, tells his observation of this event: “The 506th Squadron was perhaps a half mile ahead of us or less. As they approached the river, very heavy and accurate flak burst in their formation. I was looking directly at it when one of their planes (Millikens) started to burn. The plane fell out of formation and the crew bailed out just in time.
“As I looked at it, the plane exploded in front of us. There was a monstrous explosion, the plane literally disintegrated before my eyes. The engines were torn from the wings and went tumbling through the sky with their props windmilling as they fell in a large non-linear arc. The wings and the fuselage and tail were torn to shreds.
“As the pieces of aluminum drifted and twisted while they fell, with each turn the sun would reflect off their surfaces back into my eyes as if they were mirrors. But the most spectacular sight was the fuel cells which had been torn from the wings. They did not explode their gasoline, but rather they burned in huge orange tongues of flames streaming out behind the cells as they fell in a wavy fashion toward the earth.
“But now we must fly straight through that same shooting gallery, and would we suffer the same fate? It was very frightening, terribly frightening, but they missed us.”
Roger Tewksbury, a flight engineer on the Firman Mack crew (506th Squadron), had the following observations: “This was my first mission. We were flying on the right side of the PASSION PIT when it was hit by the first bunch of flak. The PASSION PIT slid under our open bomb bay. I saw several chutes open and the plane go into a slow, flat spin. It leveled out just before it hit in a flat area. The right wing was sheared off and caught fire. At the time I was just wearing my parachute harness when the PASSION PIT passed under us with the left wing afire. Before the plane hit the ground, I had managed to hitch only one buckle on my chute. Needless to say, after this devastation, I wore my chute fully buckled.”
PASSION PIT Crew
1st/Lt. John L. Milliken Pilot POW, escapee, returned
William R. Manierre Co Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Robert J. Bertoli Navigator POW
2nd?Lt. Irwin J. Stovroff Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Martin W. Richard Engineer POW
T/Sgt. Kenneth E. Beckwith Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. Morris W. Larkin Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Darrell E. Larsen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Leon J. Allen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Virgil R. Guebard Gunner POW
John L. Milliken
Sacramento, California
MILLIKEN, John L. Fearless and colorful, John L. Milliken, long time resident of Sacramento, and decorated Air Force World War II veteran, has died, peacefully at home, after a long illness, on September 6, 2005. He is survived by his three children and step-daughter: John Milliken, Jr., of Westlake Village, CA; Tom Milliken, of Santa Barbara, CA; April Milliken, of Los Angeles, CA and; Carolyn Beatty, of Sacramento, CA.
Born on July 4th, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, John was the oldest child of John C. Milliken, World War I veteran and graduate of Harvard University in 1913, and Marie De Lartigue, from the Herault region of France, who met in France during the repatriation of our soldiers after World War I.
John earned his college degree in Math and Physics from Queens College in Flushing, New York, in June 1942, at the age of 20. With World War I in progress, he immediately enlisted in the Reserve Corps, in July 1942, and married Joyce Irene Fallier (now Joyce Holsclaw of Santa Barbara, CA), mother of his three children, on December 27th, 1942.
He was called to active duty as Aviation Cadet, US Army Air Corps on January 1943 where he did his pilot training and became a Commissioned 2nd Ltd Officer and Commander of the B-24 aircraft. He piloted his own crew to England where he flew 31 missions, over occupied Europe, with the 8th Air Force. Shot down on his last mission, John and his crew parachuted out over northern occupied France where he escaped his German captors and made his way back to liberated France on foot, aided by his fluent knowledge of German and French. Listed as MIA during this time, John was found by the advancing American troops, hospitalized, and repatriated to the United States in mid 1944.
For his valiant efforts and fearless performance of his duties he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal and 3 Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Purple Heart.
Continuing his military service, stateside, he became qualified as a photo lab commander and reconnaissance and mapping pilot, while also qualifying as an instructor pilot on the B-29 Recon Unit. This led to four years, from 1946 to 1949, in occupied Japan where he was engaged by the Air Force for the Post Hostilities Mapping Program in the Far East.
Returning to Kessler AFB, in Biloxi, Mississippi in early 1950, John enrolled in the Air Force Electronics School and graduated first in his class of 20 with a rating of Electronic Counter Measure Observer, and was responsible for many of the design changes in the electronic equipment and installations of the B-36. In 1953, after finishing Air Force Single Observer School, and further advanced training at Mather Field in Sacramento, California, John resigned from the military on July 5, 1953 with the rank of Captain and ratings of Senior Pilot Observer.
Remaining in Sacramento, John became Assistant Sales Manager for V&H Motors, San Francisco, in July 1953, and in 1954, opened his own business as owner and operator of John L. Milliken, Auto Broker at 3231 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, California. He held and operated this business for over 30 years while remaining very active in the Republican Party and holding several offices on the Republican Central Committee.
In the last two weeks of his life he was surrounded by his family and closest friends and slipped quickly, and peacefully, to his end. Many thanks go to Stephanie Schroder, who remained close and faithful as his friend, and to the superb efforts of Kaiser Hospice Services. He died as he lived; a sort of “maverick,” with a special sort of character, that will never be forgotten.
A wake will be held at his property, on the Sacramento River, some time in mid to late October. Further details will be made available to those who wish to attend, by contacting April Milliken or Stephanie Schroder for details.
***
Target: Road Junctions between Le Havre and Rouen, France
MACR #8322
Mission: 13-Aug-44
Serial Number:#42-95150
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter:Bar-B,
Aircraft Name: PASSION PIT
Location: France
Cause: Flak
Crew: 10 9 POW 1POW/Ecapee
Bombing results were very good for the 25 aircraft dispatched against this target. No enemy aircraft was observed, but the flak was heavy and accurate, causing the loss of another 506th Squadron aircraft and crew.
Statements in the MACR include, “At 1321 hours, this aircraft was hit by flak. #1 and #2 engines burst into flames and it slid out of formation, under control. Nine chutes observed to open before aircraft exploded and crashed.” Six other 506th aircraft received heavy damage.”
Lt. John Milliken stated that, “Your information (MACR) is quite accurate. Our plane’s name was PASSION PIT, which was named after the basement bar of the Santa Rita hotel in Tucson, Arizona where we took our phase training. This plane had been our regular one since 14 June 1944. We had arrived on the 6th of June and were assigned this one on the 14th. It belonged to the 506th Squadron and was designated ‘B’ for Baker.
“They had raised the tour requirement to 33 missions and this one was our 31st. I found out later that they had lowered it to 31 that day. If we had returned, they would have told us it was our last mission! (Beckwith was on 30th)
“This raid required a long bomb run over, the Falaise pocket. We had three road intersections in a direct line where we were supposed to drop 1/3 of our bombs on each one to stop the Germans from escaping Patton’s pincher. It was too long and straight a run. The first flak burst did knock out both #1 & #2 engines and set us on fire. I was flying deputy group lead (#2) and had a hard time sliding out of the box without hitting others.
“We all bailed out and were captured by the Germans. I escaped that night by jumping out of a canvas-back German G.I. truck that was taking us back to Germany. I walked through the German front lines and joined the advancing Canadian 1st Army four days later.
“No one was hurt as far as I know except Larson, who suffered a wrenched back that he still has today. He escaped before the end of hostilities when he was being marched across central Europe by the Germans. Stovroff, a Jew, was beaten up and given a bad time by the S.S.
“The rest of my crew were prisoners ‘till the end of the war. They are all alive and I correspond with them occasionally.”
John McClane, a navigator on Lt. Peritti’s 68th Squadron airplane, tells his observation of this event: “The 506th Squadron was perhaps a half mile ahead of us or less. As they approached the river, very heavy and accurate flak burst in their formation. I was looking directly at it when one of their planes (Millikens) started to burn. The plane fell out of formation and the crew bailed out just in time.
“As I looked at it, the plane exploded in front of us. There was a monstrous explosion, the plane literally disintegrated before my eyes. The engines were torn from the wings and went tumbling through the sky with their props windmilling as they fell in a large non-linear arc. The wings and the fuselage and tail were torn to shreds.
“As the pieces of aluminum drifted and twisted while they fell, with each turn the sun would reflect off their surfaces back into my eyes as if they were mirrors. But the most spectacular sight was the fuel cells which had been torn from the wings. They did not explode their gasoline, but rather they burned in huge orange tongues of flames streaming out behind the cells as they fell in a wavy fashion toward the earth.
“But now we must fly straight through that same shooting gallery, and would we suffer the same fate? It was very frightening, terribly frightening, but they missed us.”
Roger Tewksbury, a flight engineer on the Firman Mack crew (506th Squadron), had the following observations: “This was my first mission. We were flying on the right side of the PASSION PIT when it was hit by the first bunch of flak. The PASSION PIT slid under our open bomb bay. I saw several chutes open and the plane go into a slow, flat spin. It leveled out just before it hit in a flat area. The right wing was sheared off and caught fire. At the time I was just wearing my parachute harness when the PASSION PIT passed under us with the left wing afire. Before the plane hit the ground, I had managed to hitch only one buckle on my chute. Needless to say, after this devastation, I wore my chute fully buckled.”
PASSION PIT Crew
1st/Lt. John L. Milliken Pilot POW, escapee, returned
William R. Manierre Co Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Robert J. Bertoli Navigator POW
2nd?Lt. Irwin J. Stovroff Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Martin W. Richard Engineer POW
T/Sgt. Kenneth E. Beckwith Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. Morris W. Larkin Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Darrell E. Larsen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Leon J. Allen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Virgil R. Guebard Gunner POW
Sacramento, California
MILLIKEN, John L. Fearless and colorful, John L. Milliken, long time resident of Sacramento, and decorated Air Force World War II veteran, has died, peacefully at home, after a long illness, on September 6, 2005. He is survived by his three children and step-daughter: John Milliken, Jr., of Westlake Village, CA; Tom Milliken, of Santa Barbara, CA; April Milliken, of Los Angeles, CA and; Carolyn Beatty, of Sacramento, CA.
Born on July 4th, 1921, in Buffalo, New York, John was the oldest child of John C. Milliken, World War I veteran and graduate of Harvard University in 1913, and Marie De Lartigue, from the Herault region of France, who met in France during the repatriation of our soldiers after World War I.
John earned his college degree in Math and Physics from Queens College in Flushing, New York, in June 1942, at the age of 20. With World War I in progress, he immediately enlisted in the Reserve Corps, in July 1942, and married Joyce Irene Fallier (now Joyce Holsclaw of Santa Barbara, CA), mother of his three children, on December 27th, 1942.
He was called to active duty as Aviation Cadet, US Army Air Corps on January 1943 where he did his pilot training and became a Commissioned 2nd Ltd Officer and Commander of the B-24 aircraft. He piloted his own crew to England where he flew 31 missions, over occupied Europe, with the 8th Air Force. Shot down on his last mission, John and his crew parachuted out over northern occupied France where he escaped his German captors and made his way back to liberated France on foot, aided by his fluent knowledge of German and French. Listed as MIA during this time, John was found by the advancing American troops, hospitalized, and repatriated to the United States in mid 1944.
For his valiant efforts and fearless performance of his duties he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal and 3 Oak Leaf Cluster, and a Purple Heart.
Continuing his military service, stateside, he became qualified as a photo lab commander and reconnaissance and mapping pilot, while also qualifying as an instructor pilot on the B-29 Recon Unit. This led to four years, from 1946 to 1949, in occupied Japan where he was engaged by the Air Force for the Post Hostilities Mapping Program in the Far East.
Returning to Kessler AFB, in Biloxi, Mississippi in early 1950, John enrolled in the Air Force Electronics School and graduated first in his class of 20 with a rating of Electronic Counter Measure Observer, and was responsible for many of the design changes in the electronic equipment and installations of the B-36. In 1953, after finishing Air Force Single Observer School, and further advanced training at Mather Field in Sacramento, California, John resigned from the military on July 5, 1953 with the rank of Captain and ratings of Senior Pilot Observer.
Remaining in Sacramento, John became Assistant Sales Manager for V&H Motors, San Francisco, in July 1953, and in 1954, opened his own business as owner and operator of John L. Milliken, Auto Broker at 3231 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, California. He held and operated this business for over 30 years while remaining very active in the Republican Party and holding several offices on the Republican Central Committee.
In the last two weeks of his life he was surrounded by his family and closest friends and slipped quickly, and peacefully, to his end. Many thanks go to Stephanie Schroder, who remained close and faithful as his friend, and to the superb efforts of Kaiser Hospice Services. He died as he lived; a sort of “maverick,” with a special sort of character, that will never be forgotten.
A wake will be held at his property, on the Sacramento River, some time in mid to late October. Further details will be made available to those who wish to attend, by contacting April Milliken or Stephanie Schroder for details.
***
Target: Road Junctions between Le Havre and Rouen, France
MACR #8322
Mission: 13-Aug-44
Serial Number:#42-95150
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter:Bar-B,
Aircraft Name: PASSION PIT
Location: France
Cause: Flak
Crew: 10 9 POW 1POW/Ecapee
Bombing results were very good for the 25 aircraft dispatched against this target. No enemy aircraft was observed, but the flak was heavy and accurate, causing the loss of another 506th Squadron aircraft and crew.
Statements in the MACR include, “At 1321 hours, this aircraft was hit by flak. #1 and #2 engines burst into flames and it slid out of formation, under control. Nine chutes observed to open before aircraft exploded and crashed.” Six other 506th aircraft received heavy damage.”
Lt. John Milliken stated that, “Your information (MACR) is quite accurate. Our plane’s name was PASSION PIT, which was named after the basement bar of the Santa Rita hotel in Tucson, Arizona where we took our phase training. This plane had been our regular one since 14 June 1944. We had arrived on the 6th of June and were assigned this one on the 14th. It belonged to the 506th Squadron and was designated ‘B’ for Baker.
“They had raised the tour requirement to 33 missions and this one was our 31st. I found out later that they had lowered it to 31 that day. If we had returned, they would have told us it was our last mission! (Beckwith was on 30th)
“This raid required a long bomb run over, the Falaise pocket. We had three road intersections in a direct line where we were supposed to drop 1/3 of our bombs on each one to stop the Germans from escaping Patton’s pincher. It was too long and straight a run. The first flak burst did knock out both #1 & #2 engines and set us on fire. I was flying deputy group lead (#2) and had a hard time sliding out of the box without hitting others.
“We all bailed out and were captured by the Germans. I escaped that night by jumping out of a canvas-back German G.I. truck that was taking us back to Germany. I walked through the German front lines and joined the advancing Canadian 1st Army four days later.
“No one was hurt as far as I know except Larson, who suffered a wrenched back that he still has today. He escaped before the end of hostilities when he was being marched across central Europe by the Germans. Stovroff, a Jew, was beaten up and given a bad time by the S.S.
“The rest of my crew were prisoners ‘till the end of the war. They are all alive and I correspond with them occasionally.”
John McClane, a navigator on Lt. Peritti’s 68th Squadron airplane, tells his observation of this event: “The 506th Squadron was perhaps a half mile ahead of us or less. As they approached the river, very heavy and accurate flak burst in their formation. I was looking directly at it when one of their planes (Millikens) started to burn. The plane fell out of formation and the crew bailed out just in time.
“As I looked at it, the plane exploded in front of us. There was a monstrous explosion, the plane literally disintegrated before my eyes. The engines were torn from the wings and went tumbling through the sky with their props windmilling as they fell in a large non-linear arc. The wings and the fuselage and tail were torn to shreds.
“As the pieces of aluminum drifted and twisted while they fell, with each turn the sun would reflect off their surfaces back into my eyes as if they were mirrors. But the most spectacular sight was the fuel cells which had been torn from the wings. They did not explode their gasoline, but rather they burned in huge orange tongues of flames streaming out behind the cells as they fell in a wavy fashion toward the earth.
“But now we must fly straight through that same shooting gallery, and would we suffer the same fate? It was very frightening, terribly frightening, but they missed us.”
Roger Tewksbury, a flight engineer on the Firman Mack crew (506th Squadron), had the following observations: “This was my first mission. We were flying on the right side of the PASSION PIT when it was hit by the first bunch of flak. The PASSION PIT slid under our open bomb bay. I saw several chutes open and the plane go into a slow, flat spin. It leveled out just before it hit in a flat area. The right wing was sheared off and caught fire. At the time I was just wearing my parachute harness when the PASSION PIT passed under us with the left wing afire. Before the plane hit the ground, I had managed to hitch only one buckle on my chute. Needless to say, after this devastation, I wore my chute fully buckled.”
PASSION PIT Crew
1st/Lt. John L. Milliken Pilot POW, escapee, returned
William R. Manierre Co Pilot POW
1st/Lt. Robert J. Bertoli Navigator POW
2nd?Lt. Irwin J. Stovroff Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Martin W. Richard Engineer POW
T/Sgt. Kenneth E. Beckwith Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. Morris W. Larkin Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Darrell E. Larsen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Leon J. Allen Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Virgil R. Guebard Gunner POW
Inscription
Maj US Army Air Forces; World War II; Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart Medal
Family Members
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