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Personal info

Full name
HARRINGER, John Jerome Jr
Date of birth
26 February 1924
Age
20
Place of birth
South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Hometown
St. Joseph County, Indiana

Military service

Service number
35541614
Rank
Sergeant
Function
Assistant Engineer
Unit
578th Bombardment Squadron,
392nd Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
29 April 1944
Place of death
Near the farmhouse of Willy Gudehus
East Meitze, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.

Immediate family

Members
John J. Harringer Sr. (father)
Loretta A. (Donnell) Haringer (mother)
Barbara J. Harringer (sister)
Anna M. Harringer (sister)
Mary A. Harringer (sister)

Plane data

Serial number
42-110105
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the city
MACR: 4446

More information

Sgt John J. Harringer Jr. worked in an aircraft factory.

He enlisted in Toledo, Ohio on 13 January 1943.

The only returning crew eyewitness report stated briefly that this plane was seen peeling off after the enemy fighter attacks with the right elevator appearing to be badly shot up, and that no chutes were seen. There were no additional reports on the loss of this aircrew and ship in the MACR.

About an hour after the impact a bomb detonated in the wreckage sending debris far and wide through the little town.

In 2003, a German national located the crash site and discovered humain remains. U.S. military teams excavated the site in 2005 and 2007 and found additional remains and ID tags that matched the airmen. DNA analyses were also done. Due to the fact that it was impossible to identify each crew member separately, their remains were buried in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery on 26 October 2011.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Military.com, www.fold3.com MACR, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, 392nd Bomb Group