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| Sgt. Jack McKean was an MP at an airbase in New Guinea. https://ia801401.us.archive.org/26/items/81stAirDepotGroup/81stAirDepotGroup.pdf https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48260447/jack-walton-mckean |
Jack Walton McKean never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on April 16, 1918 in Illinois. His parents Lester and Edna were also both born in Illinois. His father worked as a carpenter and later as an automobile cabinetmaker. Jack had one older brother and two younger brothers. All four McKean brothers served in the army during World War 2. By 1940 Jack had completed eight years of schooling and was living with his father while working as a painter. He married Yvonne Smith and they had two daughters.
He enlisted in the army in 1942. He became a sergeant and military policeman in the Army Air Forces. His unit was the 1124th Military Police Aviation Company, 81st Air Depot Group. He arrived in Australia in May 1943 and was transferred to New Guinea in June 1944. His unit provided guard and firefighting duties for the bases it was stationed at.
He died on December 15, 1944 in New Guinea, which at the time was not a combat zone. He had been hospitalized earlier but he was released. I don't know if he succumbed to some illness or died of some other cause.
His grave is at Goose Creek Township Cemetery in De Land, Illinois. His widow remarried and died in 1994.
Last year on this date I profiled Ray Backus, 4th Marine Division, who fought on Iwo Jima. You can read about Ray 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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