SSgt John N Wall, Jr
Osaka Castle
Jonan Rifle Range

Executed While a Prisoner of War
of the
Japanese Government

1 December 2025

499th Bomb Group (VH), 877th Bomb Squadron
AIRCRAFT COMMANDER
AIRCRAFT SERIAL NUMBER
NICKNAME
CAPT JAMES F NEWELL
44-69655
Margie Lou

 

John Nicholas Wall, Jr
22 December 1924 - 15 August 1945

source: Find-a-Grave


Addditional information
can be found at

Case History 328

Newell Crew

Tributes to Sgt Wall can be found at

Scott Muselin's
499th Bomb Group Virtual Cemetery

Honor States

 

The assistance of the following is appreciated:

Jim Bowman
John Lehnen

Roy Wall
Scott Muselin

Ed Lawson
Bob Mann

Al Schutte

POW Research Network Japan

Air Force Historical Research Agency

 

Sgt John Nicholas Wall Jr's 's parents were
John Nicholas Wall, Sr ( 1892 - 1984 ) and Helen V Spillane Wall ( 1894 - 1940 ).

They were married in December 1920 and
in 1925 were most likely living at East 145th Street in the Bronx.

Sgt Wall was the oldest of their six children.

Their next move was to 825 Logan Avenue in the Bronx.

A map of this location is below this commentary.

There is very little information concerning Sgt Wall at either
Ancestry.com or Newspapers.com

Within the

Introduction
section
are his Registration Card and a newspaper clipping dated 16 October 1942.
There is a photo of him and three other men enlisting in the US Army.

His time line begins with his Registration Card dated 30 June 1942,
three months after his father had registered.

On 7 January 1943 Sgt Wall married Marion Dittman.

According to an entry in his Report of Death,
his Date of Entry into service took one week later on 15 January 1945

By the end of the month he was at the Miami Beach Training Center.

Below is a partial list of his stations.

Radio schools at Sioux Falls and Truax were followed by one month at Philco
and then back to Truax.

His next assignment was at Salina Kansas, Smoky Hill AAF,
with unit of the 58th Bomb Wing until December 1943.

The last entry is a transfer to Clovis AAF, New Mexico, in early December 1943.

His name appears in two 499th Bomb Group rosters at Clovis AAF in February and March 1944. This is when he could have joined the Newell Crew.

Elements of the 499th Bomb transferred to Smoky Hill Army Air Field ( SHAAF ), Salina, Kansas, around this time and then returned back to Clovis AAF.

A permanent change of station took place for the entire 499th Bomb Group in mid-April 1944 when it transfered back to SHAAF.

The Newell Crew departed for Saipan as Replacement Crew in early December 1944.

Capt Newell flew 31 Missions but there are no records as to whether or not the entire crew was on these missions.

Their B-29 was shot down on the 26 June 1945 mission to the Osaka Army Arsenal.
Nine of the crew survived the crash only to be executed on

15 August 1945.

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LOCATIONS OF
825 LOGAN AVENUE
BRONX, NEW YORK
AND
ST RAYMOND'S OLD CEMETERY

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LI

LIST OF STATIONS
31 JANUARY THROUGH 10 DECEMBER 1943

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