John W. Moran served in the 755th Bomber Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, as a Lieutenant and Command Pilot on the B-24 #42-50954 during World War II.

On January 16, 1945, at 08:03h, his crew took off from Horsham St. Field to bomb the steel works Krupp in Magdeburg, France. When they reached the area, their plane was hit between engines 3 and 4 by a flak battery of 6-inch shells. The pilot tried to rejoin his lines, but, running out of fuel, gave the order to evacuate over Fontenailles (N of Andryes). All members were able to evacuate, but two of them were killed when their parachutes did not open. Lt Moran landed successfully.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net, www.caffrenchwing.fr