World War II Honoree

John Robert Pedevillano

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Bayonne, New Jersey

Honored By

CAPT Richard Laulor, USNR (Ret.)

AT AGE 22, HE WAS THE YOUNGEST BOMBARDIER IN THE U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS 306TH BOMB GROUP WHEN HIS B-17 WAS SHOT DOWN BY ENEMY FIGHTER PILOTS IN GERMANY IN APRIL 1944. HE AND HIS CREW REMAINED PRISONERS OF WAR FOR A YEAR BEFORE BEING LIBERATED BY GENERAL GEORGE PATTON'S FORCES IN 1945. HE FLEW SIX COMBAT MISSIONS DURING THE WAR. AWARDS AND MEDALS; AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN MEDAL, AND WWII VICTORY MEDAL. ON JULY 7, 2015, SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, PRESENTED HIM WITH A PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION WITH ONE OAK LEAF CLUSTER FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM IN COMBAT.