The Man Behind the Name
§ Biography
S/Sgt. John H. Cowden served as Nose Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR.
German records identify Cowden as one of five crew members killed in the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He was from Colorado. His body was not individually identified.
Service record.
§ As Catalogued
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Position
Nose Gunner
Serial Number
18071001
Hometown
CO
Missions flown.
7 catalogued · 16 Jan 1945 — 12 Oct 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
№ 674
12 Oct 1944
Osnabrück
M/Y
42-100670
→
№ 760
24 Dec 1944
Ahrweiller
??
42-94814
→
№ 761
25 Dec 1944
Hallschlag
C/C
“Calais Clipper / Luftwaffe's Lament”
→
№ 781
05 Jan 1945
Target unrecorded
42-51241
→
№ 783
06 Jan 1945
Bonn Rhine H/B
H/B
42-XX501
→
№ 789
10 Jan 1945
Target unrecorded
“Silver Eagle”
→
№ 796
16 Jan 1945
Lauta
42-51275
→
Sources.
§ Provenance
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1945
Official record