World War II Honoree

John B. Beatty

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Sandusky, Ohio

Honored By

Jerry Penry

RANK: 1ST LIEUTENANT. SERVED AS A P-47 ‘THUNDERBOLT’ FIGHTER PILOT, WHO WAS KILLED FEBRUARY 5, 1944 FOLLOWING A MID-AIR COLLISION WITH ANOTHER P-47 DURING AN INSTRUMENT TRAINING MISSION. ONE OF THE TWO PILOTS WAS FLYING ON IFR ‘INSTRUMENTS FLYING RULES’, UNDER THE HOOD ‘COVERED CANOPY’ AND THE PILOT OF THE SECOND AIRCRAFT FLYING VFR ‘VISUAL FLYING RULES’ WAS PARTICIPATING IN THE MISSION AS AN OBSERVER. THE PILOT, WHO WAS UNDER THE HOOD MADE AN UNANTICIPATED TURN AND COLLIDED WITH THE OBSERVER’S AIRCRAFT. THE TWO FIGHTERS WENT INTO A DIVE, SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL AND CRASHED IN THE VICINITY OF WOOD LAKE, NEBRASKA, FATALLY INJURING BOTH PILOTS. THE TWO AIRMEN WERE ASSIGNED TO THE AINSWORTH ARMY AIR FIELD, AINSWORTH, NEBRASKA.