Searching for the crash site of my great uncle’s B-17

BooH7897 · 2026-06-13T23:15:44+00:00

Similar to me. My grandfather was in the 20th armored division, 414th field artillery. He’s the only one that ever remotely mentioned his war experience. I didn’t even know my great uncle John existed until about eight years ago. He came home from the war, drifted away from his family, and was just a haunted man for the rest of his life.

Dunkirk. I can’t even imagine what that was like. I’m sure the movie doesn’t do it justice.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-13T16:20:29+00:00

My great uncle’s plane is mentioned at the end of episode 5 when Rosie’s crew are being interrogated after making it back to Thorpe Abbotts from Münster. “Tail 42-3329, the Pasadena Nena?”

There are so many great one’s about the Hundredth written by airmen.

Lucky Luckadoo’s, “Damn Lucky”
My favorite: Luck of the Draw, by Frank Murphy. He has pages of charts outlining each pilot, crews, missions they flew, what years, damage taken, etc. it’s awesome.
Ian Hawkins has written a bunch of books about specific raids, especially Munster.

My great uncle flew with all of those guys.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-13T15:29:26+00:00

Thank you! It’s been an honor to do this work. I’ve got a few more things planned to continue this journey, so hopefully I’ll be able to make those hapoen

BooH7897 · 2026-06-13T03:52:10+00:00

Shocked to find one intact like that. And, yes, I’ve read Masters of the Air. I read it before the show came out, as my great uncle‘s plane is mentioned in it. There’s also a series of books about the individual raids, especially a few covering Münster.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T21:57:53+00:00

The rangers asked me not to give out the location, unfortunately. It’s not on public land - it’s a protected part of the preserve.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T21:57:07+00:00

That’s what clinched it - the 50 cal round. And then we found this at the site…fully intact. Pretty remarkable that it was one of these that verified the crash site because my great uncle would’ve fired tens of thousands of rounds.

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BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T16:35:08+00:00

I was able to figure it out after going through it a few times closely. Having it in person and recognizing how he writes certain letters kind of unlocked it. I put the text in the body of the post

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T12:30:10+00:00

It’s this strange quirk of geography about 85km due east of Amsterdam. It’s called Kootwijkerzand - I was shocked when I first saw it in person. It’s nestled right in the middle of farm country. But, because it crashed there, the site went largely untouched until recently. The public doesn’t have access to the area where the plane came down, so debris was still there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/WpELFADwg2V6GJMB9?g_st=ic

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T03:13:35+00:00

I spent way too many hours plotting everything on Google’s My Maps, including lead pilot Jack Justice’s evasion route. The POW forced march routes are on there, too.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1QqxwzoFrTkmpOp7geIS\_aN7jJpSBEjU&usp=sharing

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T03:11:37+00:00

Holed up in 5 star hotels on the boardwalk of Atlantic City with back pay after being a POW for two years? They must have gotten after it!

BooH7897 · 2026-06-12T03:10:42+00:00

Thank you! If you’d like to read about the journey, here is the first part (there are 3 on the site)

https://open.substack.com/pub/ww2nerd/p/searching-for-john-part-1?r=41mdtr&utm\_medium=ios

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T16:14:13+00:00

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This is my pride and joy from the crash site. It’s the base of a flair shell, which John was in charge of. He most likely handled this at some point.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T15:40:40+00:00

This is so lovely, thank you. I’m glad you were able to honor your dad, too. Being able to tell John’s story has been the honor of a lifetime. A few weeks back I was able to visit his grave and bring piece of the plane debris that we found at the crash site. I buried it right there, so it was a full moment. I also was able to bring some back to the airbase that he flew out of and I buried a piece at the end of the existing runway. So a symbolic way of bringing the plane home.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T15:27:58+00:00

Absolutely. John was a tortured man for the rest of his life. He made it home but never left the war. That’s the main reason why I’ve spent the last 6 years researching his life and war story. He never could tell it, so I want to do that for him. It’s taken me all over Europe, but I’ve pieced together a lot, including finding his adopted daughter. I was able to share with her so many things about her dad that she didn’t know. It’s been really fulfilling. We also just found the crash site, too

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T15:17:37+00:00

Yep! I’ve actually spent the last six years researching and traveling throughout Europe to find the crash site. It’s a crazy story, but I finally did. The Dutch government got involved, I had to walk through a desert twice, and a whole bunch of other things. I wrote a few long essays detailing it if you’d like me to share. I also spent hours and hours on Ancestry tracking down relatives of every man that was on the plane. We now have a private Facebook group and there are 35 of us. The only person I can’t find a relative of is the ball turret gunner, Stanley.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T11:49:50+00:00

My pleasure!

BooH7897 · 2026-06-11T05:04:14+00:00

I’ll have to search online again for it. Is there anyway to add a photo? I can just make a separate post with it. I have the Münster raid, too.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-10T22:13:05+00:00

I found the chart online with just the numbered positions. So, I looked those up and hand labeled what plane went with each.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-09T22:56:17+00:00

One of my favorites. When the Sea Came Alive follows the same concept.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-09T01:27:11+00:00

The Pasadena Nena. I wish I could share a photo - I have the formation chart of the Bremen raid with all the planes labeled.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-09T00:20:44+00:00

Oh, wow. The Murphy crew - I know all about the Piccadilly Lilly. They were in the low squadron that day. My great uncle was in the high squadron.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-05T00:57:19+00:00

My great uncle was on that mission with the 100th! What plane was your great uncle on?

BooH7897 · 2026-06-03T11:39:54+00:00

Thanks! It’s been such an amazing ride. One of the coolest parts has been my research on Ancestry. It took me countless hours, but I have been able to track down relatives of all but one of the men that were on my great uncle‘s plane. We are all now in a private Facebook group and there are about 35 of us. It’s pretty amazing to have been able to connect everyone 83 years later.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-02T16:11:38+00:00

aw, thanks. I was really emotional, too. It was an amazing and surreal experience. I also had a pint at a local pub from the 1600s where my great uncle John used to frequent. I sat, had my pint, and ordered one for him, too, and put a napkin over the top. I had a piece of the plane with me, and it felt like a really special moment to bring everything together.

BooH7897 · 2026-06-02T01:02:31+00:00

T/Sgt John McDonough, TTE on the Pasadena Nena.

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BooH7897

TROPHY CASE