Personal File · AirmanKilled in ActionPassed 07 Jan 1944

John J. Stainker.

Tail Gunner · 328th Squadron · Of NJ.

The Man Behind the Name

§ Biography

S/Sgt. John J. Stainker served as tail gunner on B-24D 42-40990, 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group on the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen.

Stainker was last seen in the tail turret when crew members took their respective gun positions before the aircraft was hit. Whether he bailed out was unknown to the surviving crew members who completed questionnaires.

French locals reported a couple of days after the crash that two bodies were found in the burned wreckage of the plane. Stainker was listed as MIA on the original MACR. His ultimate fate was not confirmed in the surviving records, though the circumstantial evidence from French witnesses suggests he may have died in the aircraft.

Service record.

§ As Catalogued
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Position
Tail Gunner
Serial Number
13125563
Hometown
NJ

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.

Interment.

§ At Rest
Cemetery
Normandy American Cemetery
Location
D 5 41

Read the records.

4 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 6 facts

Escape and Evasion Report 403

Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Escape and Evasion Reports
Supports 4 facts

Escape and Evasion Report 406

Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Escape and Evasion Reports
Supports 3 facts

Escape and Evasion Report 404

Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Escape and Evasion Reports
Supports 3 facts

Escape and Evasion Report 405

Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1944 · Escape and Evasion 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
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
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
National Archives
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5555047
Website