John George Vasos
MilitaryFrom the family of John G. Vasos
Born outside of Buxton, Iowa, John's family moved to Clinton, Iowa where he grew up. He and his brother Tom (Navy) joined the armed forces in 1942. Tom served in the South Pacific and John in England as part of the USAAF, 8th Air Force, 305th Bomb Group, 365th Squadron. His last mission was New Year's Eve 1943 over France which ended in a crash landing on the Ashridge Estate near Aldbury, UK. John was seriously wounded while 4 crew members, including the pilot and copilot were killed. Thankfully Ruby Daley, a British Red Cross nurse from Aldbury, attended the crew and likely saved John's life. After four months in hospitals John returned to the U.S and further hospitalization in Battle Creek, Michigan. After the war John married, moved to California and had 3 daughters. He died in 1980.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: British
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 365th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Missions
- Date: 31 December 1943
- Date: 30 December 1943
- Date: 13 December 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Memorial
- Known as: 305th Bomb Group Memorial
Revisions
I am the daughter of John G. Vasos and used his discharge papers and newspaper articles to document his service.