John J. Stainker
Rank: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial: 13125583
Unit: 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Buried at: Plot D, Row 5, Grave 41, Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Biography
Staff Sergeant John J. Stainker.
Staff Sergeant John J. Stainker was born in 1922 and grew up at 615 Hunter Street, Gloucester City, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Gloucester High School, class of 1940, and worked at RCA-Victor in Camden before the war.
Stainker served as a ball turret gunner aboard the B-24 Liberator “On The Ball” in the 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. On January 7, 1944, on a mission over France, engines number two and three on the aircraft caught fire. The plane went down before three of the gunners—including Stainker—could bail out. He was killed in the crash along with fellow gunners Sweet and Kudej.
Staff Sergeant Stainker is buried at Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
Photos
Memorials to the 93rd Bomb Group, in which Staff Sergeant John J. Stainker served.