Ssgt Jack O. Nielson
Bois des Huit Rues, France 4/10/44
Lt. Raines KIA, SSgt Glenn J. Bender KIA, Ssgt Jack O. Nielson KIA
On the morning of 10 April 1944, a cold and overcast day, 36 A-20s of the 416th Bomb Group were dispatched from Wethersfield RAF station in England. Their mission was to destroy a secret German installation hidden within the Bois des Huit Rues (Forest of the 8 streets) near Morbecque and Hazebrouck in Flanders (northern France). The flight encountered heavy flak and was forced to make three passes over the target due to cloud cover. Three aircraft were lost, with only one crew surviving. A-20G tail number 43-9895, flown by 2nd Lt. Arthur A. Raines, Jr. with gunners SSgt Glenn J. Bender and SSgt Jack O. Nielson was lost over the target due to flak. The aircraft was last seen by Lt. Ernest L. Johnson (670th BG) at 11,000 feet with one engine feathered. Ssgt Nielson, an Armorer Gunner, entered the service from California.
"Goin' Home" courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Band