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LT  John K. JUSTICE

UNIT: 349th BOMB Sqdn POSITION: P 

 John K. Justice, Pilot, 349th BS Detailed Information (100th Photo Archives) 


  
  

    SERIAL #: O-735390
    STATUS: EVA
  

  

    MACR: 01021    CR: 01021 
    

  

    
			 
Comments1: 10 OCT 43 MUNSTER (PASADENA NENA) EAC

  




 
           

            
 COMMENTS & NOTES 

			MEMO 1:

            
CREW

1st Lt John K. Justice              P EVADEE  10/10/43 MUNSTER
2nd Lt John F. Shields           CP KIA  10/10/43 " "
2nd Lt Peter Battisti            NAV POW  10/10/43 " "
2nd Lt William C. Brothers     BOM POW  10/10/43 " "
  T/Sgt Richard E. Whitlock   ROG POW  10/10/43 " "
  T/Sgt John F. McDonough  TTE POW  10/10/43 " "
  S/Sgt Stanley S. Stopa         BTG POW  10/10/43 " "
  S/Sgt Harry Hafko               RWG POW  10/10/43 " "
  S/Sgt Robert E. Bergendahl LWG POW  10/10/43 " "
  S/Sgt Gaetano D. Sportelli      TG KIA  10/10/43 " "

349th Sqdn.  Crew, as above, jolned the 100th Group in June 26, 1943.  It was one of the first four replacement crews of the Group.  The other three were Lt Henry Henington, F/O Owen "Cowboy" Roane, and Lt Walter "Chief" Moreno.  Medals Awarded Lt Justice: DFC, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart  

MACR #1021, Microfiche #338, A/C #42 3229 "PASADENA NENA" XR-A.  

This mission to Munster on 10/13/43 was the 17th for thls crew; its first was to Kiel on 25/7/43.  Lt. Shields was wounded about the head by 20mm fire but did bail out.  A notation on a German report in MACR says his body was found about 100 meters from the crash point on 10 November.  Jack Justice is of the belief that, if the German report is factual, Shields was sheltered by frlendly Dutch in the area immediately after he landed but that he finally died of his wounds and the Dutch, fearing the Germans would discover they had aided him placed his body near the crash site to be found by the Germans.  Sportelli's remains were apparently found in the a/c debris   he had not bailed out.  It is probable that he was killed or very badly wounded by 20 mm fire.  He and Shields were buried at Ede Cemetary in Row C, Graves #1 & 2.  Justice was taken in by the Dutch Resistence forces and, after many months, returned to Thorpe Abbotts.  He has written a very interesting account of his life as an evadee.  See also Ian Hawkins book on Munster raid…pw

  MISSIONS OF LT JOHN K. JUSTICE (mpf 2001)


1. 25/07/43 WAREMUNDE (KIEL)
2. 28/07/43 OSCHERSLEBEN
3.  17/08/43 REGENSBURG
4. 24/08/43 BORDEAUX
5. 31/08/43 Les MERUEAUX
6.   3/09/43 PARIS
7.    7/09/43 WATTEN
8.    9/09/43 BEAUVAIS-TILLE
9. 15/09/43 RENAULT
10. 16/09/43 La PALLICE
11. 23/09/43 VANNES
12. 26/09/43 PARIS
13. 27/09/43 EMDEN
14.   4/10/43 HANAU
15.   8/10/43 BREMEN
16.   9/10/43 MARIENBURG
17. 10/10/43 MUNSTER (SHOT DOWN)

NOTES FROM LT JOHN "JACK" JUSTICE:

Our plane was named Pasadena Nena by William Brothers, Bombardier because I had lived in Pasadena, California and "Pasadena Nena" was his lucky word for the number "Nine" when he played craps"  The wound in my neck continued to fester throughout my excape. X-Rays showed ti was a metal object.  I thought it was a piece of shell fragment, but when I had it removed several years later, it was a piece of my airplane.  (mpf 2001)




Mike 
       Thanks for the help.It brought back a lot of memories I had forgotten.I was looking at Lt. Justice,s crew and 
       saw s/sgt. Sportelli,s name.Let me tell you a little story about Sport.one day at base he came over to me 
       and say,s hey Tan, I got a pass and im a little short can you lend a few pounds.Of course I gave it to him,
       we were pretty good friends.Well you know he was killed on that Munster mission.He was a nice guy Mike.
       About that mission,wasn’t that the first time the me 110,s and 210,s laid back out of range of our 50,s and 
      lobbed in there long range rockets, and wiped out the group!? Boy how did I miss that one!!!! And wasn’t
      this one the beginning of Rosies legend?
      
     Mike I got to tell you this is a great new website .Got to go now.
     Take care  Rich Tangradi, TG Amiero/Henington crews
     
    PS if you thought Steve McQueen had a Great Escape, wait till you read mine!!!!!

           
			MEMO 2:

			
Additional Info to Jack Justice escape and evasion story under "History"  https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=275:munster-raid-by-john-justice&catid=25&Itemid=581

On Nov 17, 2017, at 7:46 AM, Wolter Noordman  wrote:

Dear Mike,
Justice was taken in hiding with the family Beute, Verlooplaan at Barneveld. I think 30 days is to long, following the time-line of events. In his e&E report Justice talks about 24 days, I think this is more realistic
Jan Hendrikus Beute himself –born 21-3-1891-  was chief of the local police and had more fliers in hiding, afterwards. He had besides his wife, a son and a daughter. The son already had left the house and was married
 
He was a member of one of the local undergroundmovements. Indeed I already had conformation from his grandson and his children, about some details mentioned in Justice’s account.
So no doubt about this hidingplace.
 
Mr. Beute, his wife and daughter, were arrested by the SD ( German Sicherheitsdienst ) on 18-1- 1945. This arrest was one of a series of arrests; they were taken to the headquarters of the SD at Apeldoorn for interrogations. During these days they were locked up in the King Willem III- barracks, at Apeldoorn. Torturing was a part of those interrogations.
 
At 24-1-1945 man, woman and daughter were transported to a temporary German pow camp at Amersfoort. On 2-2-1945 mr. Jan Hendrikus Beute was transported into a pow camp in Germany.
This transport by train, took several days. He ended up in Wobelin/ Neuengamme near Hamburg, a serie of labour camps with hard regime. He died on 23-2-1945, so very soon after his arrival. No cause of death was noted on the list, . He was 53 years old, when he died
 
Mrs Beute and daughter stayed behind in camp Amersfoort and were later transported to camp Westerbork in Holland, which was a German camp for women and suffered a lot. At the end of the war ( April 1945), when the Allied troops liberated that part of the country, the Germans ordered them to walk to the northern part of the country. Finally they were released there, about 13 April 1945.
 
Before coming to Beute’s house, Justice stayed at the house of mr. Gerrit Jan van den Top, Wolweg at Stroe, for a few days. Mr van den Top had indeed as mentioned in Justice’s story a small store, where he produced bicycle components. I ‘m sure the British agent, who came to interview him, was Dick Kragt. This IS9 agent was dropped into Holland, June 1943. He used the cover names : ‘Frans Hals’( famous Dutch painter ) and ‘Capt. Kay’. He was the only evasion-agent who survived the war in Holland and stayed in Holland till the liberation, so almost two years. After the war he received the highest award from the US; the Medal of Freedom with the Golden Palm.
 
The farmhouse where Justice was taken on the night of his crash, was Jacob Bouwman, Essenerweg at Kootwijkerbroek. I think you already have this information, because I fond on your site a letter from him  written after the war. That same night, in according to Justice’s account, he was taken to the house of a man, who had sent his son to collect him; indeed the son of mr. van den Top.
This man died in the meantime, but his brother who had given me the information about the barrel and the barn still lives at Barneveld. ( 96 years old but a splendid memory).
 
So far my information about Beute and some other addresses, were Justice was helped and hidden.
 
If you have any questions, please let me know.
 
Kindest regards,
 
Wolter Noordman.

			

             
            

         

         
KIA / MIA / EVA / INT INFORMATION: 
  
         

  

    TARGET:
			Munster
    DATE: 
			1943-10-10
     
  

  

    AIRCRAFT:
	"Pasadena Nena" (42 3229)
    CAUSE:
			EAC
     
  



			


			

            
BURIAL INFORMATION

            

  

    PLOT:
			
    ROW:
			
     
  

  

    GRAVE:
			
    CEMETERY:
			
     
  



			
			
            

			
 
            
           
PHOTOS:

           
                 
John K. Justice Crew (left to right) - Stateside Photo
Standing: J. K. Justice (Pilot), J. Shields (Co-pilot)
W. Brothers (Bombardier), Lt. H. Levine (Navigator)
Kneeling: S. Stopa (Gunner), R. Whitlock (Radio), G. Sportelli (Gunner)
H. Hafko (Engineer) R. Bergendahl (Radio), J. McDonough (Engineer)
The above names and positions were written on the back of the original picture - 100th Photo Archives) 
                 
 John K. "Jack" Justice crew: Kneeling from left; Stanley S. Stopa, Gaetano D. Sportelli, Harry Hafko, Robert E. Bergendahl and John F. McDonough, Standing; John K. Justice, John F. Shields, William C. Brothers and H. Levine. Detailed Information (100th Photo Archives) 
                 
 Medals and awards earned by John K. "Jack" Justice, original 100th pilot. Detailed Information (100th Photo Archives) 
Jack Justice in Primary Training
Caterpillar Club certificate for Jack Justice 
John Justice verification letter after evading 
Letter from Family that hid Jack Justice on Oct 10, 1943
Letter of Recommandation for John J. Justice  from John Bennett
                 
Award ceremony for the 100th - Cutis LeMay, then a Colonel, presenting DFCs. From Left; William Veal, Jack Kidd, LeMay, John Brady, (mustache), Flesherfacing LeMay, Jack Justice, Thomas E. Murphy, and Henry Henington. The awards are for Regensburg, Cowboy Roane was also awarded the decoration but was in the hospital with Jaundice and is not pictured here.   (100th Photo Archives)
 Col. Curtis LeMay presenting the DFC to Maj. Flesher - Air Exe. Other DFC's are presented to the crews that flew the Regensburg mission on 17 August 1943. Left to right: William Veal, Jack Kidd, Everett Blakely (blocked by LeMay), John Brady, Jack Justice, Thomas Murphy and Henry Henington. (100th Photo Archives) 
 Lt. Col. Kidd (Group Opns. Officer). Look at that board and the names, you are looking September 3, 1943, from that list the following crews will be missing that day. Winkelman, Fineup, Floyd and not on the board yet is Richard C King. Henington will ditch in the Channel.  (100th Photo Archives) 
General Curtis LeMay, Commander of the 3rd Air Division, presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to members of the 100th Bomb Group for their part in the Regensburg shuttle mission to North Africa on August 17, 1943. Left to Right: Colonel Bill Veal, Colonel Jack Kidd, Major Everett Blakely, Captain John Brady, Lieutenant John Justice, Captain Thomas Murphy, Captain Henry Henington, Captain James Douglass, and Captain Harry Crosby. 

           
 

       
SERVED IN: 

				
Crew 1
			
	
        
		
        ID:
			2677