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Embach John Henry

Name:
John Henry Embach
Rank:
Captain
Serial Number:
O-728189
Unit:
360th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, Heavy
Date of Death:
1952-05-23
State:
Arizona
Cemetery:
Golden Gate National Cemetery, California
Plot:
R
Row:
0
Grave:
288
Decoration:
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Comments:

Then 1st Lt John Henry Embach, navigator of the B-17 41-24567 “Beats Me”, took off from station 107 in Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, UK on a bombing run over the submarine pens of Lorient. The plane, named from the “Beats me” shrugs of the crew when asked what they wanted the name to be, was hit over the target area by a bomb dropped from a friendly aircraft that took out the tail and killed Stevens. Flipped upside down, the pilot managed to right them again but then both he and his co-pilot were killed by Fw-190 fighter attacks as the formation scattered to avoid further mishaps. The plane nosed over and slowly spun down to the forest floor around 1350, but not before three crew members bailed out, including Embach. He was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Bavaria (48-12). He was later killed while serving in the Korean War when his plane exploded in mid-air.