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| Lt. John Jerue flew P-47s in the 347th Fighter Squadron in Italy. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=78825926&ref=acom http://www.lonesentry.com/images/2014/10/p-47s-of-347th-fg.html |
John P. Jerue never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 16, 1917 in New York. His parents were also both born in New York. His father worked as a wood mill carpenter. John had two older sisters and one older brother.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corp in September 1942. He became a first lieutenant and pilot in the 347th Fighter Squadron, 350th Fighter Group. The 12th Air Force, 350th Fighter Group flew P-39 Airacobras which operated in the Mediterranean theater.The 350th FG planes performed patrol and interception missions, sortied to protect convoys, escorted aircraft, flew recon, engaged in interdictions and provided close air support to ground forces. Later in the war some of the pilots were switched to P-47 Thunderbolts, including Lt. Jerue.
On October 31, 1944 Lt. Jerue flew a mission to bomb the railroad marshaling yard at Isola del Scala, north of the Po River. His plane was hit by AA fire. Rather than bailing out, Lt Jerue attempted to crash land his damaged plane. He was unsuccessful and died in the crash at Canolo, near Correggio, Italy.
His grave is at St Josephs Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleums in Toms River, New Jersey.
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!
To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY. Now more than 200 fallen have been profiled with more than 200,000 visits. Is there interest in seeing a video highlighting those from the group of second 100?
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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