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| Captain John C. Ford flew P-38s for the 364th Fighter Squadron. http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/311 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56289752/john-c.-ford |
John C. Ford never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on October 26, 1918 in Arkansas. His parents Cornelius and Linnie were also both born in Arkansas. His father worked as a farmer and later as a US mail carrier. John had one older brother and a younger sister. His older brother graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1937 and retired as a rear admiral. John attended the US Military Academy and graduated in 1942.
On December 13, 1942, while stationed in Texas for flight training, he married Mary Frances Morrison. During 1943 he trained other pilots on how to fly P-38 Lightnings.
Lt. Ford arrived in England in January 1944 and was shortly thereafter promoted to captain where he served in the 384th Fighter Squadron, 364th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. Its primary mission was to escort American bombers on missions to mainland Europe. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. I was not able to find out the details. He did shoot down 2.5 enemy planes while serving in his unit.
On July 8, 1944 Captain Ford took off from his base in Honington, England. He was flying a P-38 that had just had an engine replaced. The engine failed and Captain Ford crashed a few miles away.
His grave is at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Coton, England. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled Battle of Midway hero and torpedo bomber pilot Edwin Mushinski. You can read about Edwin here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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