Supports 6 facts
Escape and Evasion Report 462
Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Escape and Evasion Reports
Personal File · AirmanKilled in ActionPassed 07 Jan 1944
Jay W. Stearns.
Ball Turret Gunner · 328th Squadron · Of Orwell, OH.
The Man Behind the Name
§ Biography
Sgt. Jay W. Stearns (ASN 35515624; recorded as 38551562 in E&E Report No. 462) served as ball turret gunner aboard B-24 42-7614 'Buckeye' (recorded as 42-7519 in the E&E reports), 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. He was declared missing in action on 7 January 1944 after the aircraft was lost over France returning from Ludwigshafen.
Fruth's notes mention that the tail gunner had his parachute on upside down and it was corrected by the ball turret gunner before bail-out, suggesting Stearns assisted Wahrheit in the final moments.
Accounts of his death conflict. French testimony records that Stearns was one of two crewmen who did not leave the aircraft and died when it crashed in the Montgermont woods at Pringy, Seine-et-Marne, and Hansen recalled it was possible they had been killed before the crash. Hearsay in the evaders' reports instead held that he had been shot by German ground troops after bailing out. He was killed on 7 January 1944.
Service record.
§ As Catalogued
Rank
Sergeant
Position
Ball Turret Gunner
Serial Number
35515624
Hometown
Orwell, OH
Missions flown.
1 catalogued · 07 Jan 1944
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.
№
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 178
07 Jan 1944
Ludwigshafen
“Buckeye”
→
Read the records.
2 documents
Original documents behind what this page says about this airman — reports, records, and histories the archive holds and is free to reproduce. Check the sources for yourself.
Supports 1 fact
Missing Air Crew Report 2368
Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Missing Air Crew Reports
Sources.
§ Provenance
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1944
Official record
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1944
Official record