Francis J. Knox

Rank: Technical Sergeant

Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces

Serial: 12133893

Unit: 98th Bomber Squadron, 11th Bomber Group, Heavy

Entered the service from: New Jersey

Died: July 2, 1944

Memorialized at: Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii

Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

Technical Sergeant Francis J. Knox was born in Camden NJ in 1923 to John R and Helen Knox. In 1930 the family lived at 1019 Segal Street. The family, which eventually included 15 children, by then included John F., Mable C., Francis J., Matthew A., James, and Edith. John R. Knox supported his family by working as a painter in one of Camden’s many shipyards. His uncle, Archie Knox, was well-known in North Camden as a prizefighter in the late 1920s.

By the time of World War II, the family had moved to 59 York Street in Camden, in the North Camden section. Francis J. Knox went to high school for one year, then worked for John R. Evans & Company before entering the Army in November of 1942. Three other John R. Evans employees, Norbert C. Rowan, Morris Wilson Rickenbach Jr., and Raymond Price, also gave their lives for America during World War II.

He qualified for flight duty, and served as a gunner on a B-24 bomber. Francis Knox was highly decorated by the time he was lost, on July 2, 1944 during a mission from the 98th Bomber Squadron’s base on Kwajalein against Japanese installations on Eniwetok Island. Besides Technical Sergeant Knox, the crew consisted of the following men:

• 1st Lieutenant Andrew J. Sheerin
• 2nd Lieutenant LaVerne Nusbaum
• 2nd Lieutenant Fred T. Schafer
• 2nd Lieutenant Wells A. Brayton
• Technical Sgt. Francis J. Knox
• Staff Sgt. Robert A. Mote
• Technical Sgt. Jesse W. Conduff
• Staff Sgt. Job P.M. Austin
• Staff Sgt. James R. Schneider
• Staff Sgt. Charles A. Palmacci
• Staff Sgt. Benjamin F. Topelnicki

Francis Knox was reported as missing on July 2, 1944. This was reported in the Camden Courier-Post on August 17, 1944. His aircraft was never recovered, and he was declared dead by the Army on February 13, 1946. He was survived by his parents and siblings. His brother John was serving in the Army, and his brother Matthew was in the Navy at the time of his death.

Sister Edith Knox later married Robert Hawkins. Their son, Francis Hawkins, was named in Technical Sergeant Knox’s memory.