John was the son of Milton Peare James and Christina "Tina" M. Brown of Potosi, Kansas. Identified siblings were: George Milton, Robert B., Christina, William, Clarence Hilen, James R. "Jimmie", Betty, and Richard "Dick" (1930 & 1940 Census; 1925 Kansas Census). Another identified sister was Betty Ruth James-Karle who became a long time 464th Bomb Group historian.
On 17 Oct 1942, John H. James (B: 1923, Kansas) enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas. He was described as having 2 years of college and semiskilled as a craneman (WWII Enlistments). He served with 776th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bombardment Group.
On August 24, 1944, B-24 Liberator "The Little Lulu" (tail #42-52479), was shot down while returning to their airbase in Pantanella, Italy. They had just completed a bombing run targeting oil refineries in the territory of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia. The Little Lulu was downed near the village of Vlcice. Killed in the mission were: pilot 1Lt. John H. James, co-pilot 2Lt. Edward J. Maloney, navigator 2Lt. Edwin G. Durham, bombadier 2Lt. Walter W. Weaver Jr., gunner Sgt. Edward G. Ivan, nose gunner Sgt. Thad J. Watson Sr., Sgt. Felix Bruce Gleason, Sgt. Ralph Robinson, and Sgt. Eugene A. Jeleniewicz. Sgt Thad Watson was credited with shooting shot down FW-190A8 (Wing #681361, II.(Sturm)/JG300 "Wilde Sau", "Yellow 7", the pilot Fw. Hubert Engst) from his nose turret during the mission. Of the ten crew members aboard the Little Lulu, only one, radio operator Sgt. John F. D'Amore, was able to exit the plane before it crashed. Both of his legs were broken when he landed. The nearby villagers turned him over to the Germans, in part so that he could receive medical attention. The rest of the men were buried by the villagers, and later reinterred in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky on 2 Sep 1949. Sgt D'Amore reported that their aircraft was intercepted by a group of Me-109s. Shells struck the nose of the aircraft and it went into a spin. Since there was no effort to recover from the spin, D'Amore believed the pilot and co-pilot had been killed before the plane crashed (MACR-7968-464 and Mission Histories).
On 17 Oct 1942, John H. James (B: 1923, Kansas) enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas. He was described as having 2 years of college and semiskilled as a craneman (WWII Enlistments). He served with 776th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bombardment Group.
On August 24, 1944, B-24 Liberator "The Little Lulu" (tail #42-52479), was shot down while returning to their airbase in Pantanella, Italy. They had just completed a bombing run targeting oil refineries in the territory of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia. The Little Lulu was downed near the village of Vlcice. Killed in the mission were: pilot 1Lt. John H. James, co-pilot 2Lt. Edward J. Maloney, navigator 2Lt. Edwin G. Durham, bombadier 2Lt. Walter W. Weaver Jr., gunner Sgt. Edward G. Ivan, nose gunner Sgt. Thad J. Watson Sr., Sgt. Felix Bruce Gleason, Sgt. Ralph Robinson, and Sgt. Eugene A. Jeleniewicz. Sgt Thad Watson was credited with shooting shot down FW-190A8 (Wing #681361, II.(Sturm)/JG300 "Wilde Sau", "Yellow 7", the pilot Fw. Hubert Engst) from his nose turret during the mission. Of the ten crew members aboard the Little Lulu, only one, radio operator Sgt. John F. D'Amore, was able to exit the plane before it crashed. Both of his legs were broken when he landed. The nearby villagers turned him over to the Germans, in part so that he could receive medical attention. The rest of the men were buried by the villagers, and later reinterred in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky on 2 Sep 1949. Sgt D'Amore reported that their aircraft was intercepted by a group of Me-109s. Shells struck the nose of the aircraft and it went into a spin. Since there was no effort to recover from the spin, D'Amore believed the pilot and co-pilot had been killed before the plane crashed (MACR-7968-464 and Mission Histories).
John was the son of Milton Peare James and Christina "Tina" M. Brown of Potosi, Kansas. Identified siblings were: George Milton, Robert B., Christina, William, Clarence Hilen, James R. "Jimmie", Betty, and Richard "Dick" (1930 & 1940 Census; 1925 Kansas Census). Another identified sister was Betty Ruth James-Karle who became a long time 464th Bomb Group historian.
On 17 Oct 1942, John H. James (B: 1923, Kansas) enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas. He was described as having 2 years of college and semiskilled as a craneman (WWII Enlistments). He served with 776th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bombardment Group.
On August 24, 1944, B-24 Liberator "The Little Lulu" (tail #42-52479), was shot down while returning to their airbase in Pantanella, Italy. They had just completed a bombing run targeting oil refineries in the territory of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia. The Little Lulu was downed near the village of Vlcice. Killed in the mission were: pilot 1Lt. John H. James, co-pilot 2Lt. Edward J. Maloney, navigator 2Lt. Edwin G. Durham, bombadier 2Lt. Walter W. Weaver Jr., gunner Sgt. Edward G. Ivan, nose gunner Sgt. Thad J. Watson Sr., Sgt. Felix Bruce Gleason, Sgt. Ralph Robinson, and Sgt. Eugene A. Jeleniewicz. Sgt Thad Watson was credited with shooting shot down FW-190A8 (Wing #681361, II.(Sturm)/JG300 "Wilde Sau", "Yellow 7", the pilot Fw. Hubert Engst) from his nose turret during the mission. Of the ten crew members aboard the Little Lulu, only one, radio operator Sgt. John F. D'Amore, was able to exit the plane before it crashed. Both of his legs were broken when he landed. The nearby villagers turned him over to the Germans, in part so that he could receive medical attention. The rest of the men were buried by the villagers, and later reinterred in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky on 2 Sep 1949. Sgt D'Amore reported that their aircraft was intercepted by a group of Me-109s. Shells struck the nose of the aircraft and it went into a spin. Since there was no effort to recover from the spin, D'Amore believed the pilot and co-pilot had been killed before the plane crashed (MACR-7968-464 and Mission Histories).
On 17 Oct 1942, John H. James (B: 1923, Kansas) enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas. He was described as having 2 years of college and semiskilled as a craneman (WWII Enlistments). He served with 776th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bombardment Group.
On August 24, 1944, B-24 Liberator "The Little Lulu" (tail #42-52479), was shot down while returning to their airbase in Pantanella, Italy. They had just completed a bombing run targeting oil refineries in the territory of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia. The Little Lulu was downed near the village of Vlcice. Killed in the mission were: pilot 1Lt. John H. James, co-pilot 2Lt. Edward J. Maloney, navigator 2Lt. Edwin G. Durham, bombadier 2Lt. Walter W. Weaver Jr., gunner Sgt. Edward G. Ivan, nose gunner Sgt. Thad J. Watson Sr., Sgt. Felix Bruce Gleason, Sgt. Ralph Robinson, and Sgt. Eugene A. Jeleniewicz. Sgt Thad Watson was credited with shooting shot down FW-190A8 (Wing #681361, II.(Sturm)/JG300 "Wilde Sau", "Yellow 7", the pilot Fw. Hubert Engst) from his nose turret during the mission. Of the ten crew members aboard the Little Lulu, only one, radio operator Sgt. John F. D'Amore, was able to exit the plane before it crashed. Both of his legs were broken when he landed. The nearby villagers turned him over to the Germans, in part so that he could receive medical attention. The rest of the men were buried by the villagers, and later reinterred in Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky on 2 Sep 1949. Sgt D'Amore reported that their aircraft was intercepted by a group of Me-109s. Shells struck the nose of the aircraft and it went into a spin. Since there was no effort to recover from the spin, D'Amore believed the pilot and co-pilot had been killed before the plane crashed (MACR-7968-464 and Mission Histories).
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