T/Sgt. Francis Joseph Conlon Jr.
Born: 10 March 1917 – Forest Park, Illinois
Parents: Francis J. Colon Sr. & Delia Lyons-Conlon
Nickname: “Frank”
Siblings: 6 sisters
Home:
– 923 South Harlem Avenue – Forest Park, Illinois
Education:
– Saint Bernadine’s Catholic School
– Proviso Township High School
– Class of 1935
Occupation: unemployed
Selective Service Registration: 16 October 1940
– Contact Person: Delia Conlon – mother
Enlisted:
– 19 June 1941
– U.S. Army Air Corps – Washington D. C.
Serial Number: 13023449
Training:
– Geiger Field – Spokane, Washington – 3 February 1942
– Alamogordo, New Mexico – 27 May 1942
– Richard E Byrd Field, Virginia – 21 June 1942 -19 July 1942
– radio operator
Stationed:
– Chelton, England – 9 August 1942
– Eighth Air Force
– Tafaraoui, Algeria, North Africa – 26 November 1942
– Twelfth Air Force
Unit:
– 353rd Bomb Squadron, 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Plane: B-17
Engagements:
– Muerte, France – 2 October 1942
– Lillie, France – 9 October 1942
– Bizerte, Tunisia – North Africa
Missing in Action:
– 28 November 1942 – Bizerte, Tunisia – North Africa
– this was his bomber group’s first mission over North Africa
– plane attacked by German fighters
– crashed into the sea and exploded
Declared Dead: 20 November 1943
Memorials:
– Tablets of the Missing – North Africa American Cemetery – Carthage, Tunisia
– Arlington National Cemetery – Arlington, Virginia
– memorial headstone
Medals:
– Air Medal
– Purple Heart
