US Army Air Corps SSgt John Francis Ryan Jr. was born in Highlands, New Jersey on July 24, 1921, the son of John Francis Ryan Sr. (1891-) and Sylvia Marie Smith (1893-1932). His parents married in 1910 in Manhattan, NY but died early. Upon their death John Jr. moved in with his aunt Edith Rogers of Cedar Street in Highlands. By 1940, John was living with his grandmother Emmiarta E. "Emma" Cottrell (1867-1954) in Pensacola, Florida. She was first married to George E. Smith (1856-1923) and gave birth to three daughters, Edith (1886-), Sylvia Marie (1891-1932) and Myra (1898-1980). After his death, Emma would marry John Persanski in 1930 in New Jersey. John and Emma would relocate shortly afterwards and owned a home at 2220 First Street off Barrancas Street. Persanski was a WWI US Army veteran who had served as a private with Battery "M" of the 52nd Coastal Artillery Regiment at Ft. Barrancas, Florida. He would pass away in 1952 and was buried in Barrancas Cemetery.
In the meantime, John enrolled in Pensacola High School on or before the Junior class of 1938. He would graduate in the Class of 1939 and took a job as a cook. Prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, John Jr. decided to enlist in the US Army Air Corps on September 5, 1941 at Ft. Crockett, Texas. He was already a member of the National Guard at the time of his enlistment, which may have been the reason he was at Ft. Crockett. Upon processing, he was sent to training as a gunner on a bomber. There are two flexible gunnery training centers in South Florida, one being Buckingham Airfield in Ft Myers and the other Naples Airfield in Naples, Florida. This may have been where he met Miss Velma Arlene Peck ((1926-2000), daughter of Willard H. and Elsie M. Peck. Her family was living in Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois where her father was a laborer for a coal company. However, John and Velma were married in Miami on August 14, 1942.
John was transferred to Cheyenne, Wyoming where on January 11, 1943 he and his new crew were assigned to B-17 Flying Fortress bomber #42-31416. They quickly named their new aerial home, "The Queen of the Skies." Along with the "Queen" the crew was assigned to the Casper Army Air Base where there were over 400 buildings and four runways for their upcoming training. Here they learned to work together as a team in preparation for their new combat role. Upon completion, the crew was transferred to Amendola Airfield, Italy on October 12, 1943 and assigned to the 20th Bomb Squadron of the 2nd Bomb Group. After orientation, they were placed on the active muster roll for the next bombing mission. One of these was a bombing run against Wiener Neustadt in Austria on November 2, 1943. The "Queen" was one of fifteen bombers that struck the Messerschmitt Factory there, although the target was enveloped by heavy flak. They were also hit by almost 100 FW-190s, Me-109s, Me-110s, Ju-87s, and Ju-88s that attacked the formation about ten minutes before they arrived at the target. SSGT John Ryan Jr. was credited with shooting own one ME-109.
On February 25, 1944, Colonel Herbert E. Rice led his bombers against the Prufening Aircraft Plant at Regensburg, Germany. Due to the tremendous losses of the previous day, John's 2nd Bomb Group was only able to provide ten aircraft for the mission. As the "Queen" approached her target, three enemy Me-109s came in head-on from 12:00 o’clock high. The first two attacked and peeled off while the third pressed his attack with his machine guns blasting. At the last second, he passed over the "Queen" not ten feet above her. Lt. Lloyd J. Withers could be seen trying to put out the fire caused by the enemy shells that was enveloping the cockpit. Still sitting in his seat, the pilot Captain Robert Arnold was already dead as the fire spread throughout. The "Queen" then fell into a steep dive for approximately 2,000 feet before Withers was able to pull it out. Withers left the formation over Moosdorf, Germany as the survivors began to bail out. Before Withers jumped, he saw that Buchanan, Hiatt, and John Francis Ryan Jr. were already dead in the rear. As Withers bailed out, he looked back and saw the bomber blow up before it struck the ground. All those that were killed were buried near Moosdorf, except for Lt. Clyde J. Hayden. After the survivors landed, they were picked up by a German patrol and became prisoners of war.
In May 1950, John's body was returned from his military cemetery in France and buried in the Fairvew Cemetery in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. His wife remarried in 1948 to Melvin Arthur Randall (1926-) and would pass away in 2000.
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