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| Lt. James Feeney was the pilot of the B-17 Hell's Bells. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86331927/james-robert-feeney |
James Robert Feeney never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 30, 1919 in West Virginia. His parents Cecil and Anastasia were also both born in West Virginia. His father worked as a Chevrolet car dealer. Later he worked as a garage manager. Perhaps he lost the dealership during the Great Depression. James had one younger sister, and a younger brother who died as an infant. By 1940 James had completed two years of college. He was living at home, working odd jobs.
He volunteered for the Army Air Forces in February 1942. He became a first lieutenant and pilot in the 562nd Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, which was equipped with B-17 Flying Fortresses. It started flying missions from its base in England in July 1943. Lt. Feeney joined his unit at a later date.
Lt. Feeney was flying B-17 #42-31115 with the nickname Hell's Bells on February 10, 1944. His was one of eighteen 388th BG bombers who made it to the target of Brunswick, Germany that day. The Americans were attacked by German fighters before and after the bombing of Brunswick. Hell's Bells was hit by flak over the target so it lagged the other bombers for the return trip. This attracted the attention of German fighters. Lt. Feeney's plane was shot down over Utigeest, Holland. Seven men survived and became POWs. Four were killed, including Lt. Feeney.
His grave is at Machpelah Cemetery in Weston, West Virginia.
MAURICE HILLEMAN
Someone else born on the same day as James Feeney was Maurice Hilleman, who was born in Montana. His twin sister died the day he was born and his mother died two days later. He was raised by an uncle. Following up on an early interest in science, Hilleman graduated from the University of Montana in 1941. He got a doctorate degree from the University of Chicago in 1944.
Soon after graduating he developed a vaccine against Japanese B encephalitis. This help fight a disease that American troops in the Pacific were dealing with during World War 2. After the war he became chief of the Department of Respiratory Disease at Army Medical Center. While there he discovered the genetic changes that occur when the influenza virus mutates. He went on to a distinguished scientific career.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Hilleman |
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 ball turret Shirley Jones. You can read about Shirley 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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