John Eugene Gormley ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Maine
On October 12, 1943 Technical Sergeant Gormley was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ He is remembered by the people of Maine. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of John Eugene Gormley is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2021-10-29 14:45:24.
Missing : Core Data
· Enlistment type· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Educational background· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 59919 |
| Service ID | 31117607 |
| Name | John Eugene Gormley |
| From | Portland, Cumberland County, Maine |
| Birth Date | February 7, 1916 |
| Casualty Date | October 12, 1943 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
| Rank | Technical Sergeant |
| Specialty | Gunner |
| Unit/Group | 90th Bomber Group, Heavy, 400th Bomber Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Missing in Action |
| Location | Papua New Guinea, Pacific Theater |
| Burial | Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines |
| Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
John Eugene Gormley is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. |
Additional Details
John Eugene Gormley was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the son of Joseph Gormley and Nellie May Harnish. He had married Joyce Arlene Packard in 1941. His family was living in the area of Portland, Maine when he was in the service.On October 12, 1943 he was on the crew of the B-24D Liberator #42-72729 when they departed from Port Moresby. This was the first big daylight bombing mission against Rabaul on New Britain Island. Their target area was the enemy shipping area of Simpson Harbor. This was an ambitious undertaking with over 300 Allied bombers and escorts involved. They encountered heavy flak and dozens of Japanese Zero fighters. Despite the difficult situation, they were able to release their payload and help sink a destroyer and three other ships. They were last seen departing the battle scene, badly shot up but under control. However, they failed to return to base and were declared missing in action. Most likely they ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea. In a crew photo, Technical Sergeant Gormley can be seen holding onto their dependable mascot, the good dog "Tuffy". We identified 10 casualties in our archive related to the #42-72729 incident on October 12, 1943.
◼John E Gormley :: Gunner
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Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Maine Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Maine who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Maine was home to over 3,596 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 540 World War I
• 2,476 World War II
• 239 Korean War
• 341 Vietnam War
• 81 Prisoners of war
• 606 Missing in action
• 6 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 26 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 6 Medal of Honor recipients
• 2,476 World War II
• 239 Korean War
• 341 Vietnam War
• 81 Prisoners of war
• 606 Missing in action
• 6 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 26 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 6 Medal of Honor recipients
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Honor States Admin
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National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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