Jack J MARTELL
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ARMY SERIAL NUMBER | O-815360 (16046521) | |||||||
AGE | 21 yo | |||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 1923 | |||||||
STATE | Milwaukee WISCONSIN | |||||||
FAMILY | Parent : Chester & Marie MARTELL Brother : Kenneth | |||||||
RANK | 2nd Lieutenant | |||||||
FONCTION |
Pilot | |||||||
JOB before ENLISTEMENT | Gardeners and grounds keepers, parks, cemetaries, | |||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 27 october 1941 Milwaukee WISCONSIN | |||||||
REGIMENT | 388th Fighter Squadron | |||||||
DIVISION GROUP | 365th Fighter Bomb "Hell Hawks" | |||||||
ARMY | 9th Tacticul Air Command | |||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 6 june 1944 | |||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | St Lo d'Ourville | |||||||
DATA PLAN |
P-47 Thunderbolt - type D-10-RE - s/n 42-75168
Macr: 5531 Mission: Bombardement Take off: Station 408 Beaulieu, HAMPSHIRE Destroyed by its own bombs | |||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY | Cemetery Temporary of Blosville N°3508 | |||||||
See the history of the Provisional Cemeteries | ||||||||
CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY from Colleville | |||||||
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DECORATION |
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Son of Chester and Marie MARTELL, Jack has a brother Kenneth and live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jack is a gardener in parks, gardens and cemeteries. He joined the Air Corps in 1941. After completing his basic training, he joined the pilot schools at Dover Air Base where he began his P-47 training and then traveled to Milville Air Base, New Jersey In the practice of shooting. On May 15, 1943 the 365th Fighter Group was activated and the P-47 Group was given to the Group. Jack joined the unit and base in Richmond until December 4, when he left the U.S.A. for England aboard the Queen Elizabeth. He arrived on December 23 and went with the Group to Gosfield in Essex on the AAF station 154. The P-47s joined them a little later and were operational in February 1944. February 22 is the first mission for the unit called "Hell Hawks" (the hawks of hell), then missions of escort bombers (B-17 and B -24) of the 8th US Air Force. On 5 and 6 March the Group moved to Beaulieu in Hampshire at AAF 408. Jack and the Group begin training on ground attacks and bombardments in preparation for Overlord. On June 6, 1944, the Group was engaged in Overlord, the 388th FS mission was to bombard a slope supporting the railway between Carteret and the Hague-du-Puits as well as the bridge Near Couperville. Arrived on the objective the hunters plunge on the bridge and bombard in dive; Jack releases his bombs, unfortunately the delay fuses do not work and a bomb explodes during the descent. Jack's P-47 is hit by the blast of the explosion and its debris, the plane continues in line then plunges abruptly, strikes the ground and explodes. Lieutenant SMITH Jack's winger and witness of his terrible destiny will say not to have seen Jack come out before. The crash takes place at Saint-Lô-D'Ourville in the hamlet of La Charpenterie. On that day the Group will lose two pilots: Lieutenant Robert Shipe and 2nd Lieutenant Jack Martell, both under the same circumstances, on June 6, 1944 it is not the enemy who Will have overcome these valiant heroes but technical failings. Jack will be buried in the temporary cemetery of Blosville and transferred to Colleville-sur-Mer. Map ALG 7 in Fontenay-sur-Mer - Advanced Landing Groud
The 365th Fighter Group will arrive in France and settle on ALG 7 in Fontenay-sur-Mer at the end of June and will remain there until August 14th, where it will obtain 12 aerial victories during this period . 4 to 6 missions were carried out on a daily basis at this aerodrome. He will participate in the end of the capture of Cherbourg, Operation Cobra and the Poche de Chambois. The 365th Fighter Group will fight until 4th May 1945, that is 14 and a half months operational in the European air operations theater. 69 men most pilots will give their lives for our freedom. |
Different formations of fighting fighter P-47 |
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INFORMATION SOURCES | Bruno CADEVILLE - Francecrashes39-45.net - Aad.archives.gov |
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PICTURE SOURCE | Bruno CADEVILLE - Findagrave.com - Max |
PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |