World War II Honoree

John M. Drenan

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Denver, Colorado

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: First Lieutenant. Inducted into the United States Army Air Corps November 19, 1941 at Fort Logan, Colorado. As a graduate of the Advanced Flight Aviation Cadet program, he accepted his Commission and Silver Aviator Wings. He served as a crewmember aboard a B-24L ‘Liberator’ Bomber, assigned to the 431st Bomber Squadron, 11th Bomber Group, and a subordinate unit of the U.S. Seventh Army Air Forces. His unit was based on Guam Island Location: Central Pacific Theater of Operations. Monday, January 15, 1945 he was reported missing in action-Lost at sea, when his Bomber was shot by Imperial Japanese Fighters. His Bomber Group was participating in a bombing mission, attacking targets on the Volcano and Bonin Islands. His name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at Honolulu Memorial Location: Honolulu, Hawaii. His missing in action status was amended to read, killed in action Wednesday, January 16, 1946. In his Memory and Honor, this American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart. The Air Medal was awarded to the Lieutenant for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight, and the Purple Heart, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.