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| Captain John McCue was a C-47 Skytrain pilot dropping 101st Airborne paratroopers on D-Day. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56647485/john-burk-mccue |
John Burke McCue never had a chance to reach 100 years old. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
I began this project on January 1, 2017. It will conclude on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2. During the intervening time, a different fallen serviceman was profiled every day on his 100th birthday. I have decided to round out the project by profiling one of the fallen born between December 7, 1916 and December 31, 1916. This will result in one of the fallen being profiled for every day America was engaged in World War 2. The total will be 1,366 men and women. That's enough for only 13 stars out of the 4,048 on the Freedom Wall of the World War II Memorial.
John was born on December 19, 1916 in West Virginia. His parents William and Anna were born in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. His father worked as an insurance agent and later a real estate manager. Still later he did real estate insurance. John had two older brothers, Bob and Bill.
He enlisted in the army in August 1941. He volunteered for the Army Air Forces and was trained to fly transports. He became a captain and C-47 Skytrain pilot in the 100th Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group.
On June 5, 1944 the 100th TCS carried troops from the 101st Airborne Division for a predawn drop into Normandy. The 101st Airborne would then prevent German units from reaching the Americans landing at Utah Beach later that morning.
Captain McCue's plane (42-101019) was part of Serial 14 leaving from Merryfield Airfield and transporting the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. There were 41 planes in the serial and McCue's was the only one lost that night. Shortly after its stick of paratroopers jumped out at 700 feet high, Mc-Cue's plane was hit by flak. It crashed near Carentan, France and all four of the crew were killed including Captain McCue.
His grave is at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
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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