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| 2nd Lt. John McCray was a B-17 navigator in the 524th Bombardment Squadron based in England. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163898943/john-e_-mccray http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/1200 |
John was born August 27, 1920, in, Missouri to John Edward McCray. John had completed 3 years of college and was employed by the J.I. Case Company. John married his sweetheart Georgiana M.
McCray was drafted in Racine, Wisconsin on Valentines Day 1942. He volunteered to serve in the Army Air Forces. He was assigned to the 524 Bombardment Squadron, 379th Bombardment Group which was sent to England in the spring of 1943. He reached the rank of second lieutenant. Lt. McCray likely joined his unit in 1944.
“The air echelon of the squadron arrived at RAF Bovingdon by 24 April 1943, and remained there until 21 May, when it joined the ground echelon at RAF Kimbolton, which was to be its combat station for the remainder of its time in the European Theater of Operations. The squadron flew its first combat mission on 29 May, and focused on the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. This mission was the starting point for the first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) awarded to the squadron for its sustained actions through the end of July 1944. Targets included industrial sites, oil refineries, storage plants, submarine pens, airfields and communications centers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Poland. Targets included a chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, an aircraft assembly plant in Braunschweig, ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt and Leipzig, synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg and Gelsenkirchen, marshalling yards at Hamm and Reims and airfields in le Mesnil-au-Val and Berlin. The squadron received a second DUC for its attack on the FW190 aircraft factory at Oschersleben and the Junkers factory at Halberstadt on 11 January 1944.”
“During the Northern France Campaign, the squadron bombed enemy positions to assist ground troops during Operation Cobra, the breakout at Saint Lo on 24 and 25 July 1944. It attacked German communications and fortifications during the Battle of the Bulge, from December 1944 through January 1945 and bombed bridges and viaducts in France and Germany to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine, from February to March 1945.[3] The squadron flew its last mission on 25 April 1945” [2]
Second Lieutenant McCray was killed on bombing mission over Dortmund, Germany on 4 October 1944. The target was the railway yards.
UPDATE: Lt John McCray was killed on 05 October 1944. He was the Navigator for the Lt Mills Crew on board "Swamp Fire". He was "Swamp Fire's" only KIA out of the nearly 400 Airmen who flew on her. He was three missions away from completing his tour and returning home to his wife and "Swamp Fire" was three mission away from setting the record of "First Heavy Bomber to reach 100 missions without an abort. His crew delayed their return home to fly that mission. I have spoken to his widow and others in his family about his war time experiences. If you want to discover more about "Swamp Fire", her crews and accomplishment to include the missions of Lt John McCray go to our website or Face book page on "Swamp Fire" or contact us at swampfire1944@gmail.com.
His wife received Lt McCray's Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters in his memory as well as the Purple Heart. [1]
John’s final resting place is in Calvary Catholic Cemetary in Racine, Wisconsin.
Thank you for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Second Lieutenant John E. McCray.
______________This profile was written and summarized by Brianne Ellison. I am a business owner and stay at home mom of 4 children in Utah. I have been an independent family history researcher for over 12 years. I have also had a passion for U.S. war history since I was a child. WWII is my most passionate research project aside from family history. I am so grateful to be able to contribute to a memorial of such a courageous soldier that never gave up. It is because of men like John, that we have our freedom today. “Land of the Free because of the Brave.” Thank you, Second Lieutenant John E. McCray. You will never be forgotten.
This is one of the final 10 stories (7) to be written as part of this project which ends on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. At that time more than 1,370 men and women will have been profiled. The project will live on in an expanded program to write the stories of all 400,000+ US World War II fallen. Visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org to learn more. We welcome your continued support and interest and encourage you to help write some of these stories.
Last year on this date I profiled Silver Star hero Guy Earnest, 84th Infantry Division. You can read about Guy 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!
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Wife Presented Husband's Medal at Truax Field. (1945, June 8). The Journal Times, p. 5. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.newspapers.com/image/334509591/?terms=John%2BMcCray.
524th Bomb Squadron. (2020, June 15). Retrieved August 22, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/524th_Bomb_Squadron
Lt John McCray was killed on 05 October 1944. He was the Navigator for the Lt Mills Crew on board "Swamp Fire". He was "Swamp Fire's" only KIA out of the nearly 400 Airmen who flew on her. He was three missions away from completing his tour and returning home to his wife and "Swamp Fire" was three mission away from setting the record of "First Heavy Bomber to reach 100 missions without an abort. His crew delayed their return home to fly that mission. I have spoken to his widow and others in his family about his war time experiences. If you want to discover more about "Swamp Fire", her crews and accomplishment to include the missions of Lt John McCray go to our website or Face book page on "Swamp Fire" or contact us at swampfire1944@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding this information. I will update this profile to reflect the information you are adding and give you attribution.
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