John Riley Broyles was the son of John Riley Broyles and Talitha Emma Irick. Husband of Mary Evelyn Romines.
Aircraft B-24H with serial number 41-28929 departed from Manduria Air Base, Italy on a combat mission to Brasoy, Romania.
Statement from S/Sgt Alexander Witkowski Jr: On 16 April 1944, our group was on a mission to bomb the target at Brasoy, Roumania. I was flying as tail gunner in ship #085 in the right element of the First attack unit. Soon after leaving the target area, we were attacked by enemy fighters. A short while later I saw a B-24 leave its formation position in the second attack unit of the right element. I saw eight bail out at regular interval. I lost sight of the ship as it passed my line of vision. According to the Group Operations´ diagram, this aircraft was #41-28929 flown by Lieutenant Dyer. I last saw the ship at an altitude of 19,000 feet. The navigator´s coordinates were 4515N-2420E. The time was about 1118.
Crewmembers
Pilot, 2nd Lt Jack E. Dyer
Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt Walter M. Bensley
Navigator, 2nd Lt Ronald G. Sorensen,
Bombardier, 2nd Lt George A. Ryan
Engineer, Sgt Levin J. Gearhart
Radio Operator, Sgt Samuel C. Bardsley
AE, Sgt John R. Broyles Jr.
AR, Sgt Delton M. Phillips
AG, Sgt Tony B. Morrow
AAG, S/Sgt Frederick A. Lauer Jr.
The Knoxville Journal, May 10, 1944:
Sgt. John R. Broyles, Jr., husband of Mrs. Evelyn Earl Broyles, 313 A Avenue, Vestal, and son of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Broyles Sr. of Maryville, has been missing in action over Romania since April 16, according to word received by his wife. Sgt. Broyles has been in the service for 15 months. Before entering the service he was employed by the Aluminum Co. of America, Alcoa, and formerly attended Maryville High School.
The Knoxville Journal, July 13, 1944:
Sgt. John R. Broyles, Jr., husband of Mrs. Evelyn Earle Broyles of 313 Avenue A, Vestal, was reported killed in action while on his seventh mission over enemy territory, according to a telegram received by Mrs. Broyles from the War Department, it was learned yesterday. Sergeant Broyles had been in the service 15 months. His father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Broyles, Sr., live in Maryville. Other survivors include a brother in the Air Corps in Iceland, one brother and three sisters of Maryville and two sisters of Washington, D.C.
Picture from the Maryville High School Yearbook 1939
Their aircraft crashed in the forest southeast of Cugir, Romania, after one of its engines exploded. The crew was returning from a bombing mission targeting the railway marshalling yard in Brașov.
The plane went down near the Răchita Cabin, in a location known as “Donca,” at an altitude of 1,258 meters. All 10 crew members were killed. Due to the difficult terrain, the search and recovery of the bodies—whose charred remains were scattered everywhere—was carried out with great difficulty.
The earthly remains of the American aviators were placed in plastic bags and transported on a flatbed wagon to Cugir. There, on April 20, 1944, they were buried in the Greek-Catholic cemetery. The 1st Company of the 12th Gendarme Battalion Cugir rendered military honors. After the war, the remains of the 10 Americans were exhumed and initially moved to Brașov, before being subsequently repatriated to the USA, with bombardier George A.Ryan being reinterred in Belgium.
At the crash site, locals erected a cross made from the aircraft’s fuselage, while other metal components were later melted down or repurposed for local household use. Additionally, the silk from the recovered parachutes was used as fabric to make shirts for the youth of Cugir.Source: The National Archives of Romania, Hunedoara County Branch.
- Rank: Sergeant
- Date of birth: 31 March 1920
- Date of death: 16 April 1944
- County: Blount
- Hometown: Vestal
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 450th Bomber Group, 721st Bomber Squadron
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Woodlawn Cemetery, Knoxville, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar VI, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor John R. Broyles Jr.
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