Kellum John Reid

Monuments

Canada's Bomber Command Memorial Panels

ISOB John Reid Kellum

Name:

John Reid Kellum

Rank:

Pilot Officer

Serial Number:

J/90307

Unit:

Royal Canadian Air Force

Date of Death:

1944-07-26

State:

California

Cemetery:

Choloy War Cemetery, Choloy-Menillot, Departement de Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France

Plot:

Coll. grave 2A. B. 14 16.

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

John Reid Kellum was born on September 17, 1919, in Cranbrook, Canada, but attended Mountain View High School in California in 1939. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on November 30, 1942, and became a Flight Sergeant/Pilot Officer, flying Avro Lancaster bombers. He was based with 619 Squadron at Dunholme Lodge.

John served in the #619 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Pilot Officer during World War II. On July 25, 1944, aboard Lancaster aircraft # ND 935, his crew took off at 21h06 from RAF Dunholme Lodge, England, on a mission to attack Stuttgart, Germany. While en route, the aircraft suffered a catastrophic engine fire, probably hit by flak. The crew began to bail out, but Kellum, along with two others, did not escape the aircraft and died when it crashed in flames in Près de Dieuze - 14 km east of Château-Salins, France. The crew members who successfully bailed out were captured and became POWs.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net