John Robert Herdic was born on August 30, 1921 in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He served in the 491st Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group, Medium as a First Lieutenant and Bombardier of an aircraft during World War II. His plane crashed in the vicinity of Duong Diao, French Indo-China (Vietnam), 13:49 hrs. Lt Herdic's plane went missing during his 50th mission, 51st week of a 52 week deployment. He would have gone home after this mission. The requirement was 50 missions or 52 weeks.

In addition to being an aviator, he was also a trained navigator and bombardier. Time between missions was spent with the bomb group navigator mapping routes for the bomb group and squadrons and identifying target locations based on aerial photographs and pilot sightings during previous missions. He is now buried in the Wildwood Cemetery, Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com