Joseph William Sullivan Joseph William Sullivan was born in Hamilton County, Ohio. He entered the military service in Ohio. After basic training, he was assigned to Navigator Training School. He was then commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and sent to an operational unit for further combat crew training. He was soon deployed to England and assigned to the 561st Bomb Squadron of the 338th Bomb Group.

His first combat mission was flown on August 15, 1943 as a member of the Chaffin crew in B-17 # 42-5905, nicknamed "Just AG." He completed 15 missions with this crew, and then on October 2, 1943, he flew as navigator with the Felece crew on a bombing raid on Emden, Germany. Several minutes after the bomb release, the aircraft was struck by flak, setting the # 1 engine on fire. The prop was feathered, but the # 2 engine failed. The aircraft fell off into a tight spiral dive. All of the crew bailed out, but landed in the North Sea just north of Emden, and near the Danish coast. There were no survivors.

Lt Sullivan's remains were never recovered, and he is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraeten, Holland. He was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

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