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| Staff Sergeant Jack Beasley was a B-24 waist gunner in Europe. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96523959 |
Jack Palmer Beasley never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Announcement: Later this month I will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
Jack was born on January 10, 1920 in Colesville, Maryland. His parents William and Vergie were born in Virginia and Maryland, respectively. His father worked as a bus driver and as a farmer. Jack had one older brother and one younger sister. He graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1937, where he was a member of a singing group called the Hill Billies. In 1940, Jack was living at home with his parents in Montgomery, Maryland and had completed two years of college.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in April 1942 and after training as a machine gunner was assigned to the 700th Bomber Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Eighth Air Force. The 445th BG was activated 20 March 1943 at Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho and flew Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The 445th was deployed to England beginning in October 1943 where it was based at Tibenham and flew its first combat mission on 13 December 1943.
On 6 March 1944 SSgt. Beasley was flying as a waist gunner aboard B-24 “Balls of Fire” on the 445th’s 31st combat mission. On that day, the 445th dispatched 25 B-24s as part of a larger force of 504 B-17s and 226 B-24s assigned to hit industrial areas in the suburbs of Berlin. Fierce fighter opposition encountered to and from the target resulted in the loss of 69 bombers during the mission, the highest number lost by the Eighth Air Force in a single day. “Balls of Fire” was shot down by enemy fighters and crashed near Furstenau, Germany. Eight of the ten-man crew, including SSgt. Beasley, were able to bail out and became prisoners of war, however SSgt. Beasley died soon after his capture of injuries received in the attack.
Jack Palmer Beasley is buried in Union Cemetery in Burtonsville, Maryland.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Austin Gough of the 14th Armored Division. You can read about Austin 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.
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation
“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
Born in 1920 not 2020 as stated.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding contribution to helping all Americans understand the heroism of those men and women who have given their all for our nation!!!
ReplyDeleteIn this same plane, Chester Skalski died in the crash. My aunt took several years care of his grave in The Netherlands (Margraten).
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