John “Johnny” Stein, Jr. was born on November 13, 1916, in Portland, Oregon. He was the son of John and Hazel Mullen Stein. He was married to Audra Marie Haffenden Braun.
John served in the 862nd Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a First Lieutenant and Fighter Pilot during World War II. At the time of his death, Lt. Stein was with the 3rd Scouting Force flying out of Wormingford, England, aboard P-51 Mustang #44-12152.
On April 3, 1945, Stein was escorting bombers to Kiel, Germany, when his scouting flight was engaged and fired on by friendly P-51s of the 359th Fighter Group. Stein's aircraft was hit and went into a flat spin at 14,000 feet. The right-wing came off, and the aircraft continued its spin. Stein's wingman urged him to bail out, but when last seen, there was no fire, and the canopy was intact, indicating no bailout. The aircraft crashed into Gamborg Fjord.
The wreckage was located by Danish fishermen but no recovery was made. An effort was made by Grave Registration in May 1945 after the liberation of Denmark to pull the aircraft from the water, but this attempt failed. On May 6, 1948, another effort attempted a recovery but also failed. Finally, in October 1948, human remains were recovered. 1Lt Stein is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupré, Belgium.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, www.americanairmuseum.com