Second Lieutenant James Thomas Hood Jr, Army serial number O-816308, was born at Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana on July 15, 1921. His name in military records is James Hood Jr. He was one of at least five children of James Thomas Hood (28 Mar 1886 – 18 Jan 1960), who was born at Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Kentucky; and Flonnie Cleo (Nicely) Hood (4 Nov 1897 – 24 Apr 1979), who was born at Rockcastle County, Kentucky. His parents married on May 23, 1915. His father was a farmer.
In 1918 the family lived on a farm on Rural Route 2 near Good Hope, McDonough County, Illinois. By 1920 the family lived on a farm about five miles southwest of Greencastle in Madison Township, Putman County, Indiana, near present-day Jack Torr Farms. In 1944 his parents' address was Rural Route 4, Greencastle, Indiana.
He graduated from Greencastle High School in 1939. His photo in the school's 1939 yearbook is accompanied by this entry:
------------
JAMES HOOD, RVF [Reliable, Versatile, Friendly]
Astronomy Club; Boys' Recreation Club; Jr. Academy of Science;
Social Dancing Club; Ink Pot Staff; Boys' Glee Club; Operetta 4.
------------
After graduation he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and lived at the Central Parkway YMCA in downtown Cincinnati. He worked as a machinist at Cincinnati Milling Machine Company in Oakley, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb, and took evening classes at the University of Cincinnati. He registered for the draft at Cincinnati on February 15, 1942. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. He was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio on July 29, 1942.
On January 30, 1943 he reported for duty as an Aviation Cadet at Nashville, Tennessee, and was selected for pilot training in Army Air Forces Class 43-J. From February to April 1943 he completed the Preflight phase of pilot training at Maxwell Field, Alabama; from April to June 1943 he completed the Primary phase at Dorr Field, Florida; from June to August 1943 he completed the Basic phase at Gunter Field, Alabama; and from August to October 1943 he completed the Advanced phase (twin-engine training in the Beechcraft AT-10) at Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour, Indiana. He graduated and received his wings and commission at Freeman Field on November 3, 1943.
His next stop was the Army Air Base at Camp Kearns near Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Paul L. Henderson. In December 1943 the Henderson crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Henderson crew was assigned to the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Lt Henderson was moved to a different crew, and Lt Hood was assigned to the crew of Lt Joseph A. Duncan in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. At Alamogordo he requested transfer to B-24 transition school (in order to become a first pilot with his own crew), but his request was denied. The Duncan crew completed B-24 crew training at Alamogordo, and deployed with the 487th Bomb Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52591 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 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.
On May 11, 1944 the Duncan crew flew B-24H 41-29481 on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The aircraft was severely damaged by flak as the formation flew over Chateaudun, France. Duncan and Hood managed to get back to England, but the aircraft caught fire as it reached the English coast. All crew members bailed out safely. Before he bailed out, Lt Duncan headed the aircraft out to sea, but it turned and crashed in the village of Chichester.
In July 1944 the 487th Bomb Group transitioned to flying the B-17 'Flying Fortress'. Here is Lt Duncan's crew roster on August 25, 1944:
B-17G 43-37980 – 839th Bomb Squadron
• Duncan, Joseph A – 1/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Rogers, Winston S – Capt – Air Leader – KIA
• Jones, Richard L – Capt – Pilotage Navigator – KIA
• Friedman, Ely N – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Dolan, James J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Henahan, Joseph W – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Brown, Gerard F – T/Sgt – Radio operator – KIA
• Everett, Lloyd E – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Brown, Rhodes L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Wolyn, Monroe S – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hood Jr, James – 2/Lt – Officer Tail Gunner – MIA
On August 25, 1944 Lt Duncan's crew took off from Lavenham Airfield in B-17G 43-37980, the deputy lead aircraft of the Lead Squadron, on a mission to bomb the German airfield at Rechlin, Germany. Captain Winston S. Rogers flew in the copilot position as Air Leader, and copilot Lt Hood moved to the tail gunner position as Officer Tail Gunner and formation observer. Lt Hood and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when the aircraft was hit by flak just after bombs away over Rechlin, Germany. The right outer wing was lost, and the burning aircraft went into a spin, exploded, and crashed in Muritz Lake (Müritzsee) near Boek, Germany, north of the target. Two crew members, 1/Lt Joseph Anderson Duncan and S/Sgt Monroe Stanley Wolyn, were blown clear and survived. Lt Hood apparently never left his position in the tail, and went down with the aircraft wreckage in Muritz Lake.
The bodies of eight of the crew were buried initially at the Retzow Cemetery in Retzow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, a short distance north of Rechlin Airfield. Lt Hood's body was never found, and his remains were deemed nonrecoverable in August 1949.
Lt Hood is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery. He has another cenotaph at Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, Indiana, where his parents are buried; and he is honored on the Putnam County World War II Memorial in Greencastle, Indiana.
He was sorely missed. On August 26, 1946, two years after his loss, his family had the following published in The Daily Banner newspaper, Greencastle, Indiana:
---------------
IN MEMORY
In loving memory of our dear
son and brother, Lt. James Hood
Jr., who gave his life for his
country two years ago, Aug. 25,
1944.
He set aside his future plans,
His youthful hope and dream,
And gave for all the Gift
Supreme.
Greater love hath no man than
this,
That a man lay down his life
for his friends.
To our hearts there comes a
longing
If only James could come home.
We do not know what pain he
fared.
We did not see him die.
We only know that he is gone,
And could not tell us Good-Bye.
Sadly missed by Mom and Dad,
Brother and Sisters.
---------------
At least fourteen other pilots who graduated with him at Freeman Field also went on to serve in the 487th Bomb Group. Three of them—Earnest T. Carmen, Willard D. Haskell, and Merle J. Thies—were also killed in action.
On February 28, 2024, Luftfahrt Technisches Museum in Rechlin, Germany (LTM Rechlin) announced the recovery of one of the four Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines of B-17 43-37980 from Muritz Lake. There may be further exploration for other wreckage of the aircraft.
Sources:
1. 49 Squadron Association. Retzow Cemetery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
2. 487th Bomb Group Association
3. 1900 US Census; Kentucky; Monroe County; Union. Hood, William T. 8 June 1900 (his father's father)
4. 1910 US Census; Kentucky; Rockcastle County; Walnut Grove. Nicely, James. 16 Apr 1910 (his mother's father)
5. 1920 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. Jan 1920 (his father)
6. 1930 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. Apr 1930 (his father)
7. 1940 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. 24 Apr 1940 (his father)
8. American Battle Monuments Commission
9. (The) Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana (several articles about Lt James Hood Jr available through Hoosier State Chronicles digital archive)
10. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
11. Enlistment Record of James Hood Jr
12. Fields of Honor Database entry for HOOD, James Jr
13. Find A Grave: Cenotaph for James Hood, Jr (1921 - 1944) at Forest Hill Cemetery, Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana
14. Freeman Army Air Field, Seymour, Indiana: Army Air Forces Advanced Pilot Class 43-J (posted on indianamilitary.org)
15. Green, Ken. The Day the Liberator Crashed on Chichester, 11th May 1944. Chichester, England: Chichester Local History Society, 2010
16. Historical Marker Database. Putnam County (Indiana) World War II Memorial. Greencastle, Indiana
17. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 March 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon order to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England.)
18. HQ, Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona. Special Orders Number 1. 1 January 1944 (transfer of fifty heavy bomber combat crews, less navigators, from Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona to the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico)
18. Indiana Birth Certificates, 1907–1940 (ancestry.com): James Hood Jr born at Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana on 15 Jul 1921; parents James Hood and Flonnie Cleo (Nicely) Hood
20. James Thomas Hood (1921–1944) in Rhonda Bullock Rund family tree (ancestry.com)
21. Mundia.com (ancestry.com) profiles of James Thomas Hood (1886 – 1960)
22. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 8470
23. U.S. Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Technical Records Section. Individual Deceased Personnel File of James Hood Jr, O-816308 (aka '293 File')
24. U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). See: Our Missing, World War II
25. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900–1999 (ancestry.com): Greencastle High School. THE MINARET [yearbook]. Greencastle, Indiana, 1939 (his photo on page 22)
26. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946
27. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)
28. World War I Draft Registration of James T. Hood. 12 Sep 1918 (his father)
29. World War II Draft Registration of James Thomas Hood. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)
Research by:
Find A Grave member ID 47577572
Last edited 18 Mar 2024
Second Lieutenant James Thomas Hood Jr, Army serial number O-816308, was born at Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana on July 15, 1921. His name in military records is James Hood Jr. He was one of at least five children of James Thomas Hood (28 Mar 1886 – 18 Jan 1960), who was born at Tompkinsville, Monroe County, Kentucky; and Flonnie Cleo (Nicely) Hood (4 Nov 1897 – 24 Apr 1979), who was born at Rockcastle County, Kentucky. His parents married on May 23, 1915. His father was a farmer.
In 1918 the family lived on a farm on Rural Route 2 near Good Hope, McDonough County, Illinois. By 1920 the family lived on a farm about five miles southwest of Greencastle in Madison Township, Putman County, Indiana, near present-day Jack Torr Farms. In 1944 his parents' address was Rural Route 4, Greencastle, Indiana.
He graduated from Greencastle High School in 1939. His photo in the school's 1939 yearbook is accompanied by this entry:
------------
JAMES HOOD, RVF [Reliable, Versatile, Friendly]
Astronomy Club; Boys' Recreation Club; Jr. Academy of Science;
Social Dancing Club; Ink Pot Staff; Boys' Glee Club; Operetta 4.
------------
After graduation he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and lived at the Central Parkway YMCA in downtown Cincinnati. He worked as a machinist at Cincinnati Milling Machine Company in Oakley, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb, and took evening classes at the University of Cincinnati. He registered for the draft at Cincinnati on February 15, 1942. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. He was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio on July 29, 1942.
On January 30, 1943 he reported for duty as an Aviation Cadet at Nashville, Tennessee, and was selected for pilot training in Army Air Forces Class 43-J. From February to April 1943 he completed the Preflight phase of pilot training at Maxwell Field, Alabama; from April to June 1943 he completed the Primary phase at Dorr Field, Florida; from June to August 1943 he completed the Basic phase at Gunter Field, Alabama; and from August to October 1943 he completed the Advanced phase (twin-engine training in the Beechcraft AT-10) at Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour, Indiana. He graduated and received his wings and commission at Freeman Field on November 3, 1943.
His next stop was the Army Air Base at Camp Kearns near Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Paul L. Henderson. In December 1943 the Henderson crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Henderson crew was assigned to the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Lt Henderson was moved to a different crew, and Lt Hood was assigned to the crew of Lt Joseph A. Duncan in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. At Alamogordo he requested transfer to B-24 transition school (in order to become a first pilot with his own crew), but his request was denied. The Duncan crew completed B-24 crew training at Alamogordo, and deployed with the 487th Bomb Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52591 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 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.
On May 11, 1944 the Duncan crew flew B-24H 41-29481 on a mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The aircraft was severely damaged by flak as the formation flew over Chateaudun, France. Duncan and Hood managed to get back to England, but the aircraft caught fire as it reached the English coast. All crew members bailed out safely. Before he bailed out, Lt Duncan headed the aircraft out to sea, but it turned and crashed in the village of Chichester.
In July 1944 the 487th Bomb Group transitioned to flying the B-17 'Flying Fortress'. Here is Lt Duncan's crew roster on August 25, 1944:
B-17G 43-37980 – 839th Bomb Squadron
• Duncan, Joseph A – 1/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Rogers, Winston S – Capt – Air Leader – KIA
• Jones, Richard L – Capt – Pilotage Navigator – KIA
• Friedman, Ely N – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Dolan, James J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Henahan, Joseph W – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Brown, Gerard F – T/Sgt – Radio operator – KIA
• Everett, Lloyd E – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Brown, Rhodes L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Wolyn, Monroe S – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW
• Hood Jr, James – 2/Lt – Officer Tail Gunner – MIA
On August 25, 1944 Lt Duncan's crew took off from Lavenham Airfield in B-17G 43-37980, the deputy lead aircraft of the Lead Squadron, on a mission to bomb the German airfield at Rechlin, Germany. Captain Winston S. Rogers flew in the copilot position as Air Leader, and copilot Lt Hood moved to the tail gunner position as Officer Tail Gunner and formation observer. Lt Hood and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when the aircraft was hit by flak just after bombs away over Rechlin, Germany. The right outer wing was lost, and the burning aircraft went into a spin, exploded, and crashed in Muritz Lake (Müritzsee) near Boek, Germany, north of the target. Two crew members, 1/Lt Joseph Anderson Duncan and S/Sgt Monroe Stanley Wolyn, were blown clear and survived. Lt Hood apparently never left his position in the tail, and went down with the aircraft wreckage in Muritz Lake.
The bodies of eight of the crew were buried initially at the Retzow Cemetery in Retzow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, a short distance north of Rechlin Airfield. Lt Hood's body was never found, and his remains were deemed nonrecoverable in August 1949.
Lt Hood is memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery. He has another cenotaph at Forest Hill Cemetery in Greencastle, Indiana, where his parents are buried; and he is honored on the Putnam County World War II Memorial in Greencastle, Indiana.
He was sorely missed. On August 26, 1946, two years after his loss, his family had the following published in The Daily Banner newspaper, Greencastle, Indiana:
---------------
IN MEMORY
In loving memory of our dear
son and brother, Lt. James Hood
Jr., who gave his life for his
country two years ago, Aug. 25,
1944.
He set aside his future plans,
His youthful hope and dream,
And gave for all the Gift
Supreme.
Greater love hath no man than
this,
That a man lay down his life
for his friends.
To our hearts there comes a
longing
If only James could come home.
We do not know what pain he
fared.
We did not see him die.
We only know that he is gone,
And could not tell us Good-Bye.
Sadly missed by Mom and Dad,
Brother and Sisters.
---------------
At least fourteen other pilots who graduated with him at Freeman Field also went on to serve in the 487th Bomb Group. Three of them—Earnest T. Carmen, Willard D. Haskell, and Merle J. Thies—were also killed in action.
On February 28, 2024, Luftfahrt Technisches Museum in Rechlin, Germany (LTM Rechlin) announced the recovery of one of the four Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines of B-17 43-37980 from Muritz Lake. There may be further exploration for other wreckage of the aircraft.
Sources:
1. 49 Squadron Association. Retzow Cemetery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
2. 487th Bomb Group Association
3. 1900 US Census; Kentucky; Monroe County; Union. Hood, William T. 8 June 1900 (his father's father)
4. 1910 US Census; Kentucky; Rockcastle County; Walnut Grove. Nicely, James. 16 Apr 1910 (his mother's father)
5. 1920 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. Jan 1920 (his father)
6. 1930 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. Apr 1930 (his father)
7. 1940 US Census; Indiana; Putnam County; Madison Township. Hood, James. 24 Apr 1940 (his father)
8. American Battle Monuments Commission
9. (The) Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana (several articles about Lt James Hood Jr available through Hoosier State Chronicles digital archive)
10. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
11. Enlistment Record of James Hood Jr
12. Fields of Honor Database entry for HOOD, James Jr
13. Find A Grave: Cenotaph for James Hood, Jr (1921 - 1944) at Forest Hill Cemetery, Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana
14. Freeman Army Air Field, Seymour, Indiana: Army Air Forces Advanced Pilot Class 43-J (posted on indianamilitary.org)
15. Green, Ken. The Day the Liberator Crashed on Chichester, 11th May 1944. Chichester, England: Chichester Local History Society, 2010
16. Historical Marker Database. Putnam County (Indiana) World War II Memorial. Greencastle, Indiana
17. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 March 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon order to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England.)
18. HQ, Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona. Special Orders Number 1. 1 January 1944 (transfer of fifty heavy bomber combat crews, less navigators, from Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona to the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico)
18. Indiana Birth Certificates, 1907–1940 (ancestry.com): James Hood Jr born at Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana on 15 Jul 1921; parents James Hood and Flonnie Cleo (Nicely) Hood
20. James Thomas Hood (1921–1944) in Rhonda Bullock Rund family tree (ancestry.com)
21. Mundia.com (ancestry.com) profiles of James Thomas Hood (1886 – 1960)
22. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 8470
23. U.S. Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Technical Records Section. Individual Deceased Personnel File of James Hood Jr, O-816308 (aka '293 File')
24. U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). See: Our Missing, World War II
25. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900–1999 (ancestry.com): Greencastle High School. THE MINARET [yearbook]. Greencastle, Indiana, 1939 (his photo on page 22)
26. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946
27. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)
28. World War I Draft Registration of James T. Hood. 12 Sep 1918 (his father)
29. World War II Draft Registration of James Thomas Hood. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)
Research by:
Find A Grave member ID 47577572
Last edited 18 Mar 2024
Inscription
Wall of the Missing:
HOOD JAMES JR 2 LT 839 BOMB SQ 487 BOMB GP (H) INDIANA
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Indiana.
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