John A. Bigelow entered the military service in California. He resided in Los Angeles County, California prior to the war. John served as a Second Lieutenant & Pilot on B-24J #42-109970, 373rd Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24J #42-109970 took off, with a crew of 8, from Yangkai, China on a night combat mission over Changsha, China. After a successful mission and while returning to Yangkai they ran out of fuel. The pilot signaled for the crew to "bail out" which they all did approximately 70 miles south east of Kunming, China. It is unknown, however, if the Pilot was able to bail out or not, it was July 18, 1944. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until April 12, 1946. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov