James H. Mcmahon.
Ball Turret Gunner · 409th Squadron · Of The Bronx, NY.
The Man Behind the Name
Joined 330th Sqdn., 93rd Bomb Group. Flew 32 missions with the 329th and 409th Sqdns. of the 93rd Bomb Group. First mission Oct. 18, 1943. Last mission June 21, 1944 — force landed in Sweden on the way home from Berlin. Escaped from Sweden in December 1944.
Service record.
Missions flown.
The missions below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.
Before and after.
Born December 1923 in The Bronx, NY. Enlisted Dec. 27, 1941. Served at March Field and Hamilton Field, CA; Las Vegas Flexible Gunnery School (Class 42-45). Assigned to B-17 ball turret with 43rd Sqdn., 29th Bomb Group at Gowen Field, Boise, ID. Transferred to B-24s at Davis Monthan Field, Tucson, AZ. Phase training at Tucson, Alamogordo, and Clovis. Left Herington, KS for overseas in August 1943.
Returned to the States Dec. 31, 1944; medically discharged May 5, 1945 at Mitchell Field. Received Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, New York State Conspicuous Service Cross with Gold Cross. Later career: U.S. Treasury Department officer (1950); NYC police detective, Manhattan West Detective Division (retired with line-of-duty injuries); undercover agent for TRA; moved to California. Earned AA from Orange Coast College, BA from California State University; taught special education (degrees from UC Irvine and San Diego State). California licensed private investigator and Sonoma County sheriff's department employee. Married Helen Wells in Newport Beach, CA in 1966; one daughter, Shauna.