John C. McLaughlin
John C. McLaughlin of Haddon Heights, NJ.
Rank: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial Number: 13176692
Unit: 728th Bomber Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Staff Sergeant John C. McLaughlin of Haddon Heights, NJ, was born in Pennsylvania in 1924 to Henry and Jane McLaughlin. He was the youngest of three children, coming after Jane and Edward. The family had moved to Haddon Heights, New Jersey by April of 1924. John C. McLaughlin attended Haddon Heights High School for two years, leaving in 1940 to work as an apprentice at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
John McLaughlin enlisted in the Army on February 12, 1942, at Philadelphia, PA. After qualifying for flight duty, he trained at the aerial gunnery school at Kingman, AZ. He completed the course and was promoted to Sergeant in September of 1943. He was then sent to Salt Lake City, UT, to receive further training before being sent overseas. Sergeant McLaughlin served as a tail gunner aboard a B-17G bomber, No. 42-38124, nicknamed THE PASSIONATE WITCH. The pilot, First Lieutenant Robert M. Cook, named his plane after the 1941 novel “The Passionate Witch” by Thorne Smith. This novel inspired the film I Married A Witch, starring Frederic March and Veronica Lake. In the 1960s, the popular TV show “Bewitched” was based upon this novel.
The Passionate Witch, the novel by Thorne Smith that inspired the plane’s name.
Staff Sergeant McLaughlin was named by the 8th Air Force as having been the first American bomber gunner to shoot down an enemy fighter over Berlin, during the raid that took place on March 6, 1944. He was credited with shooting down a Focke-Wulf FW-190, and also for shooting down another German fighter on the same mission.
Staff Sergeant McLaughlin was wounded on a mission to bomb Frankfurt, Germany on March 20, 1944, and returned to action after only three days. Returning from the Frankfurt mission, THE PASSIONATE WITCH landed at the emergency landing field at Dunsfold, England, with severe battle damage. The bomber was repaired and was ready to return when a damaged RAF Lancaster with battle damage skidded on landing and collided with THE PASSIONATE WITCH. The Lancaster had been attacked by German fighters, during which RAF Sergeant Ronald Thomas was mortally wounded. Another B-17G, No. 42-32082, was subsequently nicknamed THE PASSIONATE WITCH II.
On March 28, 1944, THE PASSIONATE WITCH II was shot down on the 24th mission undertaken by the 452nd Bomb Group. The target was the airfield at Châteaudun, about 50 km west-northwest of Orléans, France. PASSIONATE WITCH II received a direct hit from German anti-aircraft fire in the No. 4 fuel tank and exploded in mid-air. The right wing broke off, causing the plane to go into a downward spin. PASSIONATE WITCH II crashed 2 km south of the target.
Five members of the ten-man crew were killed in the crash. They were co-pilot Second Lieutenant Ronald J. Casey, navigator Second Lieutenant John F. Oswalt, bombardier Second Lieutenant John A. Rowland, flight engineer Technical Sergeant Gerald H. Poplett, and gunners Staff Sergeant Fremont H. Granade and Staff Sergeant Carl A. Blichmann. Five bodies were discovered shortly after the crash and in time were re-interred at the U.S. military cemetery at Solers in Melun, France.
The pilot, First Lieutenant Robert M. Cook, radioman George A. Silva, waist gunner Richard L. Thayer, and Staff Sergeant McLaughlin managed to bail out of the aircraft before it crashed and were quickly taken prisoner. Lieutenant Cook was taken to Stalag Luft 1 at Barth-Vogelsang, Prussia. Staff Sergeant Silva and Staff Sergeant Thayer were sent to Stalag 17B at Braunau Gneikendorf, near the town of Krems, Austria. All three survived the war and returned to the United States.
Staff Sergeant McLaughlin died of wounds on March 29, 1944, in the hospital at Orléans, France. He had broken an arm and a leg and was likely suffering from internal injuries. He was initially buried in the cemetery at Orléans and later re-interred at Solers.
Word of Staff Sergeant McLaughlin’s death came in August 1944. Surviving him were his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. McLaughlin of 1714 West High Street, Haddon Heights, NJ, and a brother, Edward J. McLaughlin, then serving overseas in the Navy.
John C. McLaughlin.
John C. McLaughlin is memorialized on the War Memorial in Haddon Heights, NJ.
Photographs of the Passionate Witch — March 22, 1944
Photographs of The Passionate Witch, B-17G No. 42-38124, March 22, 1944, showing battle damage sustained during combat missions.
After the Lancaster Collision — March 23, 1944
The Passionate Witch was completely wrecked after being struck on the runway by the British Lancaster bomber that had been damaged by German fighters on its return from a mission.
Photographs of the Passionate Witch II — March 28, 1944
Passionate Witch II falls from the skies after being hit by anti-aircraft fire near Châteaudun airfield, France, on March 28, 1944. Note the bombs already falling to the target.
Crew of the Passionate Witch II — Christmas 1943
Standing, left to right: Sgt. Dick Thayer, Right Waist Gunner/Assistant Armourer; Sgt. Hubert Roughton, Left Waist Gunner/Assistant Engineer; Sgt. Gerald Poplett, Top Turret Gunner, Engineer; SSgt. Carl (Herbie) Blichmann, Ball Turret Gunner, Assistant Radio; Sgt. John McLaughlin, Tail Gunner/Armourer.
Kneeling, left to right: First Lt. Robert M. Cook, Pilot; Second Lt. Ronald J. Casey, Co-Pilot; Second Lt. John Rowland, Bombardier/Chin Turret Gunner; Second Lt. John Oswalt, Navigator/Nose Gunner.
Not in picture: Fremont Granade (Roughton’s replacement); George Silva, Radio.
Prior to the crash, Sergeant Roughton was replaced by Staff Sergeant Granade, who is not pictured above. It appears that Granade may have been assigned to the ball turret, Staff Sergeant Blichmann moved to the right waist position, and Sergeant Thayer shifted to the left waist.
Crew of The Passionate Witch II.
John McLaughlin was with my father, Richard L. Thayer, on the Passionate Witch II during WWII, who was one of three airmen that survived the crash over France at high noon on March 28, 1944. Dad spoke often of the war, his time in Stalag 17B, and the crash of their B-17.
He also spoke so many times about “McLaughlin” who he liked so much and was one of his crew. It was certainly a miracle my father survived and when he landed just outside the German airfield they were bombing that day he was taken by two German guards who allowed him to go to Mr. McLaughlin. Mr. McLaughlin was laying on the ground, his parachute still attached, and obviously very wounded. He was bleeding from the mouth but when dad asked him if he was in pain he said no. He said, “Dick, will you light me a cigarette?” Dad helped him take a puff off the cigarette and then the Germans pushed dad away from him. Dad believed until his death, January 1, 2001, that McLaughlin died right there on the ground. We were interested to read he did survive a day in a hospital.
We wanted to tell any family he might have that dad was with him and probably the last American he spoke to and that he was not in pain. Just something we would want to know if it had been our family. I do not believe Mr. McLaughlin was married but may have some family still in your area.
Please know that every year on March 28, 1944 dad would say… “Our wing went off at high noon and we lost some good men.” He never forgot them and spoke of them often and made us feel we knew them too. We have a picture of the plane with its wing off going down. We found the picture in some old WW2 books.
— Margie Thayer Bolanger, May 2012
For more about Staff Sergeant Dick Thayer, see Richard L. Thayer.
Decorated Haddon Heights Tail Gunner Missing
Camden Courier-Post —
Sergeant McLaughlin, holder of the Purple Heart medal and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster, was reported missing March 28. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. J. McLaughlin, and was a graduate of Haddon Heights High School, class of ’40. He was employed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard prior to enlisting 18 months ago. He was a member of the Eighth Air Force, stationed in England, and was wounded March 20 and returned to duty three days later. McLaughlin was named in an announcement from the Eighth Air Force headquarters as the first American gunner to shoot down a German fighter plane over Berlin. He downed a Focke-Wulf 190, according to the announcement and also was credited with another plane on another mission.