*** Funeral Announcement for TSgt Turner Y. Johnston on 21 OCT 2023 in Belton, TX, USA ***
PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 14, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Johnston, T.) WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston, 21, of Loraine, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 25, 2023.
*In the summer of 1943, Johnston was assigned to the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Johnston was an engineer-gunner was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Johnston's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Johnston's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Johnston will be buried in Belton, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
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Radio Op. T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston DFC MIA/KIA
Hometown: Edcouch, Tex.
Squadron: 415 BS 98th Bomb Group
Service # 18057913
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. Edward T. McGuire DFC MIA/KIA
Target: White IV Ploesti
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40520
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter:M
Aircraft Name: YEN TU
Location: Lost near the target, Barcanesti Romania
Cause: Crew of 10 7MIA/KIA 3POW
Sgt. Johnston lost his life in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" August 1st 1943. One of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98TH BG destroy Romanian oil refineries. Sgt. Johnston was awarded the Distinguished flying cross for his valor on this mission.
Flown by Lt. Edward T. McGuire and crew. Briefed to fly in the 5th and last wave attacking White IV. YEN TU was hit by flack on approach to the target and some of the crew were killed, after the target the pilots climbed to allow the remaining crew safe egress. Three gunners in the tail section bailed out successfully.
YEN TU is reported to have crashed in flames at Barcanesti ironically just a few miles away from BREWERY WAGON of Lt. John Palm. The bodies of the other 7 crew members were never recovered.
Sgt. Johnston appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.
Crew of YEN TU
1Lt Edward T. Mcguire Pilot
2nd/Lt. James H. Marrah Co Pilot
2nd Lt. Russell H. Godde Bombardier
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
T/Sgt. Harry G. Konecny Engineer
T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston Radio Op.
S/Sgt. James R. Waltman Gunner
S/Sgt. Moses F. Tate Gunner
S/Sgt. Clark S. Fitzpatrick Gunner
PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 14, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Johnston, T.) WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston, 21, of Loraine, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 25, 2023.
*In the summer of 1943, Johnston was assigned to the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Johnston was an engineer-gunner was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Johnston's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Johnston's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Johnston will be buried in Belton, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Op. T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston DFC MIA/KIA
Hometown: Edcouch, Tex.
Squadron: 415 BS 98th Bomb Group
Service # 18057913
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. Edward T. McGuire DFC MIA/KIA
Target: White IV Ploesti
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40520
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter:M
Aircraft Name: YEN TU
Location: Lost near the target, Barcanesti Romania
Cause: Crew of 10 7MIA/KIA 3POW
Sgt. Johnston lost his life in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" August 1st 1943. One of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98TH BG destroy Romanian oil refineries. Sgt. Johnston was awarded the Distinguished flying cross for his valor on this mission.
Flown by Lt. Edward T. McGuire and crew. Briefed to fly in the 5th and last wave attacking White IV. YEN TU was hit by flack on approach to the target and some of the crew were killed, after the target the pilots climbed to allow the remaining crew safe egress. Three gunners in the tail section bailed out successfully.
YEN TU is reported to have crashed in flames at Barcanesti ironically just a few miles away from BREWERY WAGON of Lt. John Palm. The bodies of the other 7 crew members were never recovered.
Sgt. Johnston appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.
Crew of YEN TU
1Lt Edward T. Mcguire Pilot
2nd/Lt. James H. Marrah Co Pilot
2nd Lt. Russell H. Godde Bombardier
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
T/Sgt. Harry G. Konecny Engineer
T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston Radio Op.
S/Sgt. James R. Waltman Gunner
S/Sgt. Moses F. Tate Gunner
S/Sgt. Clark S. Fitzpatrick Gunner
*** Funeral Announcement for TSgt Turner Y. Johnston on 21 OCT 2023 in Belton, TX, USA ***
PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 14, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Johnston, T.) WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston, 21, of Loraine, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 25, 2023.
*In the summer of 1943, Johnston was assigned to the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Johnston was an engineer-gunner was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Johnston's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Johnston's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Johnston will be buried in Belton, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Op. T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston DFC MIA/KIA
Hometown: Edcouch, Tex.
Squadron: 415 BS 98th Bomb Group
Service # 18057913
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. Edward T. McGuire DFC MIA/KIA
Target: White IV Ploesti
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40520
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter:M
Aircraft Name: YEN TU
Location: Lost near the target, Barcanesti Romania
Cause: Crew of 10 7MIA/KIA 3POW
Sgt. Johnston lost his life in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" August 1st 1943. One of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98TH BG destroy Romanian oil refineries. Sgt. Johnston was awarded the Distinguished flying cross for his valor on this mission.
Flown by Lt. Edward T. McGuire and crew. Briefed to fly in the 5th and last wave attacking White IV. YEN TU was hit by flack on approach to the target and some of the crew were killed, after the target the pilots climbed to allow the remaining crew safe egress. Three gunners in the tail section bailed out successfully.
YEN TU is reported to have crashed in flames at Barcanesti ironically just a few miles away from BREWERY WAGON of Lt. John Palm. The bodies of the other 7 crew members were never recovered.
Sgt. Johnston appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.
Crew of YEN TU
1Lt Edward T. Mcguire Pilot
2nd/Lt. James H. Marrah Co Pilot
2nd Lt. Russell H. Godde Bombardier
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
T/Sgt. Harry G. Konecny Engineer
T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston Radio Op.
S/Sgt. James R. Waltman Gunner
S/Sgt. Moses F. Tate Gunner
S/Sgt. Clark S. Fitzpatrick Gunner
PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 14, 2023
Airman Accounted for from WWII (Johnston, T.) WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston, 21, of Loraine, Texas, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 25, 2023.
*In the summer of 1943, Johnston was assigned to the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator bomber on which Johnston was an engineer-gunner was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. The remains that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.
Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel, disinterred all American remains from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These remains were sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for examination and identification.
To identify Johnston's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Johnston's name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Johnston will be buried in Belton, Texas, on Oct. 21, 2023.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Radio Op. T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston DFC MIA/KIA
Hometown: Edcouch, Tex.
Squadron: 415 BS 98th Bomb Group
Service # 18057913
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Pilot 1st/Lt. Edward T. McGuire DFC MIA/KIA
Target: White IV Ploesti
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 1-Aug-43
Serial Number: 42-40520
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter:M
Aircraft Name: YEN TU
Location: Lost near the target, Barcanesti Romania
Cause: Crew of 10 7MIA/KIA 3POW
Sgt. Johnston lost his life in the Ploesti raid "Operation Tidal Wave" August 1st 1943. One of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at tree top level the 98TH BG destroy Romanian oil refineries. Sgt. Johnston was awarded the Distinguished flying cross for his valor on this mission.
Flown by Lt. Edward T. McGuire and crew. Briefed to fly in the 5th and last wave attacking White IV. YEN TU was hit by flack on approach to the target and some of the crew were killed, after the target the pilots climbed to allow the remaining crew safe egress. Three gunners in the tail section bailed out successfully.
YEN TU is reported to have crashed in flames at Barcanesti ironically just a few miles away from BREWERY WAGON of Lt. John Palm. The bodies of the other 7 crew members were never recovered.
Sgt. Johnston appears Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery Florence, Italy his remains were never recovered or identified.
Crew of YEN TU
1Lt Edward T. Mcguire Pilot
2nd/Lt. James H. Marrah Co Pilot
2nd Lt. Russell H. Godde Bombardier
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
1st/Lt. Max H. Schiwetz Navigator
T/Sgt. Harry G. Konecny Engineer
T/Sgt. Turner Y. Johnston Radio Op.
S/Sgt. James R. Waltman Gunner
S/Sgt. Moses F. Tate Gunner
S/Sgt. Clark S. Fitzpatrick Gunner
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Texas.
Family Members
Other Records
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