Second Lieutenant Jesse Eugene Gregory, Army serial number O-771918, was born at Okeechobee, Florida on April 8, 1924. His parents were Jesse Bell Gregory (11 Jan 1902 – 18 Nov 1986) and Nettie Eugene (Houston) Gregory (17 Sep 1904 – 18 Apr 1988), who were born in Georgia. His parents married about 1923. By 1930 the family lived at Colquitt, Miller County, Georgia, where his father was a barber and his mother was a beautician.

He registered for the draft at Colquitt, Georgia on June 30, 1942. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had hazel eyes and brown hair. At that time he was employed by Henderson, Black and Green Construction Company at Lynn Air Field in Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia.

In 1943 he was enrolled at Clemson University in the Class of 1945, majoring in Electrical Engineering. He was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Miami Beach, Florida on February 26, 1943.

He completed Army Air Forces bombardier training and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Second Lieutenant Charlton A. Deuschle. The crew completed B-17 operational training at Sioux City, Iowa in June 1944. They deployed from Kearney, Nebraska in a B-17 via the north Atlantic ferry route on June 15, 1944, and arrived in England on June 30, 1944. They inprocessed at the Combat Crew Replacement Center at Bovingdon, England in early July 1944, and were assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group on July 24, 1944.

The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Deuschle's crew roster on August 5, 1944:

B-17G 43-38007 – 838th Bomb Squadron

• Deuschle, Charlton A – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW

• Steffens, Eugene F – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA

• Underwood, Allan B – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA

• Gregory, Jesse E – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Late, Carl L – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Cochran, William J – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA

• Hinkson Jr, Harry M – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA

• Deelaney, Grady E – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Haglund, John L – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA

• Crooker, Robert J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

Lt Gregory and seven of his crewmates were killed in action on August 5, 1944 when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38007, was shot down by flak on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory at Magdeburg, Germany. The aircraft received direct hits just before bombs away, and exploded within seconds. The fuselage broke apart aft of the ball turret, and part of the right wing came off. Most of the men were either killed instantly or were ejected from the aircraft without their chutes. The aircraft crashed near Lostau, Germany, about 13 kilometers southwest of Burg, near Magdeburg. (The Germans reported that it crashed between Gerwisch and Biederitz, just south of Lostau—vicinity of 52.173°N, 11.731°E.) Pilot 2/Lt Deuschle and gunner Sgt Crooker survived and became prisoners of war. The dead were buried initially at the village cemetery in Lostau.

After the war Lt Gregory's remains were returned to the United States and interred at Colquitt City Cemetery in Colquitt, Georgia.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1930 US Census; Georgia; Miller County; Colquitt. Gregory, Jesse B. 21 Apr 1930 (his father)

3. 1940 US Census; Georgia; Miller County; Colquitt. Gregory, Jesse B. 3 Apr 1940 (his father)

4. American Battle Monuments Commission

5. Clemson University (SC) Alumni Scroll of Honor. Clemson Corps Honoree Jesse Eugene Gregory

6. de Jong, Ivo. 'The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H)'. Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004

7. Enlistment Record of Jesse E. Gregory

8. Jesse Eugene Gregory in Houston-Mock-Vines-Doss Family tree (ancestry.com)

9. Jesse Eugene Gregory in Jessica Jowett Family Tree (ancestry.com)

10. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 7893

11. U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925–1949 (ancestry.com)

12. U.S. National World War II Memorial Registry. Honoree Jesse Eugene Gregory (honored by Family)

13. U.S. War Department. 'World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel'. Washington, D.C., June 1946

14. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572