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2LT Paul W Janssen
Monument

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2LT Paul W Janssen Veteran

Birth
Pfingsten, Nobles County, Minnesota, USA
Death
31 Dec 1942 (aged 23)
At Sea
Monument
Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA Add to Map
Plot
Tablets of the missing
Memorial ID
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2Lt Janssen was a member of a B-26
Marauder crew that had been dispatched to
England to provide their airplane for British
service.

After arriving in Greenland, the crew was
ordered, for reasons not specified, to return
to the U.S.

En-route, they encountered bad weather and
ran out of gas, and had to make a forced
landing in Labrador on December 10, 1942.
All seven aboard B-26B Marauder #41-17862
"Time's Awastin" survived the crash belly
landing.

On 12 December, 1942, the pilot began
making log entries. At one point, he made
an entry that other aircraft flew over them,
and one medium bomber passed over as low
as 600 feet but they were unsuccessful at
gaining that aircrew's attention.

On 27 December, with increasingly colder
sub-arctic temperatures and diminished
hopes of rescue, Lt. Emanuel Josephson,
who was the Navigator, and Lt. Janssen,
and Sgt. Charles Nolan decided to take the
aircraft's life raft and set out on foot.
They were not seen again. The how and why
the death date of 31 December was affixed
for these three airmen is not known.

The remaining crew sheltered in place.
The pilot logged that they ran out of
food supplies on 17 January, 1943. He
also logged that the temperature was so cold
that the airplane's motor oil was frozen and
could not be burned for heat.

He made his last entry on 3 February, 1943,
stating Sgt. Russell Weyrauch died on that
date, and that the men were very frustrated
and very weak.

On 9 April, 1943, Eskimo hunters found the
downed bomber and the bodies of the four
remaining airmen. The plane was found about
twenty miles inland from the coastal village
of Hebron.

Their bodies were recovered by an Army
team on 18 April, 1943. The bodies of the
three that set out on 27 December were never
found. There was no indication if they ever
made it over the mountain range separating
them from Hebron.

The remains of the B-26 are still in place.
In 1963, a retired Army Air Forces Colonel
erected a monument at the site to the lost
airmen.

The air crew were:

1st Lt. Grover C Hodge, Jr, Pilot
2nd Lt. Paul W Janssen, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Emanuel J. Josephson, Navigator
Cpl. Frank J Galm, Radio Operator
Cpl. James J Mangini, Jr., Gunner
Sgt. Charles F Nolan, Passenger
Sgt. Russell Weyrauch, Engineer
~
Entered the service from Minnesota.
2Lt Janssen was a member of a B-26
Marauder crew that had been dispatched to
England to provide their airplane for British
service.

After arriving in Greenland, the crew was
ordered, for reasons not specified, to return
to the U.S.

En-route, they encountered bad weather and
ran out of gas, and had to make a forced
landing in Labrador on December 10, 1942.
All seven aboard B-26B Marauder #41-17862
"Time's Awastin" survived the crash belly
landing.

On 12 December, 1942, the pilot began
making log entries. At one point, he made
an entry that other aircraft flew over them,
and one medium bomber passed over as low
as 600 feet but they were unsuccessful at
gaining that aircrew's attention.

On 27 December, with increasingly colder
sub-arctic temperatures and diminished
hopes of rescue, Lt. Emanuel Josephson,
who was the Navigator, and Lt. Janssen,
and Sgt. Charles Nolan decided to take the
aircraft's life raft and set out on foot.
They were not seen again. The how and why
the death date of 31 December was affixed
for these three airmen is not known.

The remaining crew sheltered in place.
The pilot logged that they ran out of
food supplies on 17 January, 1943. He
also logged that the temperature was so cold
that the airplane's motor oil was frozen and
could not be burned for heat.

He made his last entry on 3 February, 1943,
stating Sgt. Russell Weyrauch died on that
date, and that the men were very frustrated
and very weak.

On 9 April, 1943, Eskimo hunters found the
downed bomber and the bodies of the four
remaining airmen. The plane was found about
twenty miles inland from the coastal village
of Hebron.

Their bodies were recovered by an Army
team on 18 April, 1943. The bodies of the
three that set out on 27 December were never
found. There was no indication if they ever
made it over the mountain range separating
them from Hebron.

The remains of the B-26 are still in place.
In 1963, a retired Army Air Forces Colonel
erected a monument at the site to the lost
airmen.

The air crew were:

1st Lt. Grover C Hodge, Jr, Pilot
2nd Lt. Paul W Janssen, Co-Pilot
1st Lt. Emanuel J. Josephson, Navigator
Cpl. Frank J Galm, Radio Operator
Cpl. James J Mangini, Jr., Gunner
Sgt. Charles F Nolan, Passenger
Sgt. Russell Weyrauch, Engineer
~
Entered the service from Minnesota.

Inscription

2LT, 440 AAF BOMB SQ, 319 BOMB GP WORLD WAR II



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  • Maintained by: ShaneO
  • Originally Created by: War Graves
  • Added: Aug 6, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56284531/paul_w-janssen: accessed ), memorial page for 2LT Paul W Janssen (28 Jul 1919–31 Dec 1942), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56284531, citing East Coast Memorial, Manhattan, New York County, New York, USA; Maintained by ShaneO (contributor 47009366).