John M. Nolan
Rank: Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial: 13124682
Unit: 347th Bomber Squadron, 99th Bomb Group
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Burial: Section J, Site 13586 — Long Island National Cemetery, 2040 Wellwood Avenue, Farmingdale, NY 11735
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Biography
Sergeant John M. Nolan was born in Pennsylvania on November 13, 1921. He later moved to Camden County, New Jersey. A high school graduate, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in Philadelphia, PA on May 10, 1942. He was unmarried when he enlisted.
Sergeant Nolan went overseas, serving with the 347th Bomber Squadron, 99th Bomb Group, part of the 15th Air Force, flying a B-17G-35-DL based in Italy. This unit was known as the “Mammy Yokum Squadron” as the planes all had nose art derived from the Li’l Abner newspaper comic strip. The squadron first went to Italy about March 1944. On his 24th mission, Sergeant Nolan was killed in action on May 18, 1944, during a raid on Ploesti, Romania, when his plane, under the command of Second Lieutenant Herschel McClain, was brought down by anti-aircraft fire over Mostar, Yugoslavia.
Sergeant Nolan was brought home in 1949, and was buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.