F/Sgt. John Campbell Willson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on April 7, 1924, and he had a sister and a brother. His father was born in Lee Township, Michigan and his mother was born in Glasgow, Scotland. The family moved to the United States so his father could find work as a machinist. At some point, the family moved to 120 North 13th Avenue, Melrose Park, Illinois. He attended Melrose Park School, graduated from Lincoln School, and Proviso Township High School, Maywood, Illinois, in 1941.
Right after graduating high school he attended the Bryant & Stratton Business College from 1941 to 1942. He also worked as a law clerk at the law form of West & Eckhart in Chicago. At some point he moved to Windsor, Ontario, and lived at the YMCA. On April 1, 1942. he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force hoping to be trained as a pilot and named his father as his contact person. He received the serial number R/145481. He trained in London, Ontario. During his training from June 1942 until December 1942, he received punishment four times for not obeying orders and for using insubordinate language to an officer. He also trained at Behleforte, Ottawa, Canada. After completing his training, he was assigned to the an Avro Lancaster bomber of the 44th Royal Air Force Squadron, which was one of two RAF units to operate throughout the war, as a bombardier with the rank of flight sergeant.
After arriving in England he was stationed at RAF Waddington until May 1943 when his squadron was moved to Dunholme Airborne Lodge. On June 22, 1944, his plane took off, at 10:55 pm, on a bombing mission against a synthetic petroleum refinery at Ruhr, Belgium. During the mission John’s plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed between a coal mine and the As-Lanklaar Road, (Limburg), 10 km South Southwest of Masseik in Belgium. His parents received a telegram from the RCAF telling them that John was missing in action as of June 22, 1944. The Royal Canadian Air Force sent his parents a certificate, dated July 27, 1945, stating that RCAF was declaring Richard dead as of June 22, 1944. It wasn’t until one of the members of his crew was liberated from a German Prisoner of War camp, at the end of the war, did they learn he was dead.
Richard’s parents then received a letter from the Royal Canadian Air Force, in Ottawa, Canada, dated August 19, 1946.
Mr. C. A. Willson
1329 South 12 Avenue
Maywood, Illinois, U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Willson:
It is indeed with regret that I must advice you that according to information which has now been secured from captured German documents your son, Flight Sergeant John Campbell Willson, lost his life.
According to these documents the aircraft of which your son was a member of the crew crashed at approximately 1:30 A. M. on June 22md, 1944, 3 kilometers West of Mechelen and 16 kilometers North North West of Maastricht, Belgium. They further state that your son and Pilot Officer Scholtz, a Royal Air force member of the crew, lost their lives at that time and were buried in the churchyard at Mechelen. Please be assured that if at any time in the future information is received by the Missing Research and Enquiry Services or the Graves Registration Unit in that area, concerning your son’s death or place of burial, you will be at once advised.
I sincerely hope that you can find consolation in the fact that your son risked his life and willingly in defense of freedom. What we all owe to him is beyond estimation. May you be fortified by the spirit of courage and hope which enabled him to discharge his duties whatever the cost/
Yours sincerely,
LWO (signed)
R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer,
for Chief of the Air Staff.
A British team was sent to the area where John’s plane crashed and the civilians directed them to a local cemetery where John’s remains were recovered. His parents, who had moved to Encinitas, California, requested that he be buried in a military cemetery. F/Sgt. John C. Willson was buried at the Lanklaar Communal Cemetery, Lanklaar, Belgium.
