John H. Gorham
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

John H. Gorham was born on 22 May 1922, the son of James Anderson and Minty Mae Love Gorham.

In March 1944, Second Lieutenant John H. Gorham was serving as a navigator with the 757th Bomb Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 304th Bombardment Wing, 15th Air Force, based at Giulia Airfield, Italy. The 459th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers on missions in Italy, France, the Balkans, Austria and Germany.

On 17 March 1944, 2LT Gorham was the navigator on the B-24H Liberator bomber, Serial Number 41-29237, named 'Tamerlane II' on a bombing mission over Vienna (Bad Vosleau), Austria. The aircraft had a crew of 10. The aircraft was last sighted at 1303 hours. The Missing Air Crew Report noted that the aircraft probably experienced engine supercharger trouble or failure.

All 10 crew members were listed as Missing in Action on MACR report 3298. Their official date of death is 2 August 1945.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Purple Heart
Air Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Forces Navigator Badge

B-24H Liberator Bomber Serial Number 41-29237 'Tamerlane II' had the following crew on 17 March 1944.

● Pilot: 1LT Philip S. Wood, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 78612]
● Co-Pilot: 2LT Grover S. Brines, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 68066]
● Navigator: 2LT John H. Gorham [Honoree Record ID 202634]
● Bombardier: 2LT Frank N. Stear [Honoree Record ID 77923]
● Engineer: SSGT Michael R. Rindos [Honoree Record ID 207010]
● Radio Operator: SSGT Warren J. Montalbano [Honoree Record ID 205644]
● Waist Gunner: SGT Joseph J. Sellick [Honoree Record ID 207575]
● Ball Turret Gunner: SGT Lyle McAllister [Honoree Record ID 205137]
● Tail Turret Gunner: SGT Guy C. Hayes [Honoree Record ID 203100]
● Nose Turret Gunner: SGT Joseph M. Goodman [Honoree Record ID 202614]

Memorialization

Second Lieutenant John H. Gorham is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Provincia di Roma, Lazio, Italy.

He is also memorialized with a cenotaph at Liberty Hill Cemetery in Acworth, GA.

[The information in this biography was derived primarily from various sections of the 459th Bombardment Group website at http://www.459bg.org/ and permission was granted for its use.]