Watsonville readers of the Register-Pajaronian became a part of John Ware's B-17 as he shared his experiences of a bombing mission.

John E. Ware was born in Kern County, California, on May 30, 1924, to Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ware. The Wares originally resided in Monterey. It was probably in that community that he attended elementary school and three years of high school. After he left high school, he moved to Aptos, where his parents were living, and he worked in the construction trade.

John Ware enlisted in the Army Air Corps on November 20, 1942, and received training in Salinas, California, Buckley Field, Colorado, and Kingman, Arizona, before being shipped overseas. Sergeant Ware served as a tail gunner on a B-17 named Hangover that was part of the 711th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force stationed in England.

In February 1944 Ware described a bombing mission over France in a letter home to his parents. A portion of that account is taken from a Watsonville Register-Pajaronian article that appeared on February 5, 1944.

“Press stories, early in January, told the story of the first and last mission of the Flying Fortress, Hangover, in a raid over Cognac, France when three German fighters, and probably four more, were shot down. Staff Sergeant John E. Ware, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ware, Rt. 1, Box 191, Aptos, was one of the crew members of the bomber which eventually found its way back to its English base, picked with 142 holes, all four engines damaged, the instruments destroyed and out of gas. He wrote home a vivid description of the mission of testing guns over the English Channel, of opening up on two Focke Wulf 190s at 1000 yards. I was really scared, he continues: The flak started then. It sounded as though all hell had broken loose. I hovered over my guns and prayed. The Number 2 engine was hit by flak and caught on fire. His story goes on about bandaging the head of the top turret gunner who had been hit and getting back to his position in time to really start shooting at the swarms of FW 109s and ME 109s which attacked the Hangover.”

On March 16, 1944, S/Sgt John E. Ware and the Hangover were not so lucky. They departed on their final mission over Augsburg, Germany; however, while over Orconte, France, the Hangover crashed and John was killed. The location of his remains is not known.

(NARA2; 447th Bomb Group, Combat Action List, http:// www.447bg.com/aclist_2.html, (Approx. May 2007), WRP February 5, 1944 1:1, SCSn November 10, 1944 1:2)