John Symonds Alley, Jr. was born on December 7, 1915 in Coalville, Summit County, Utah. He was the son of John Symonds Alley and Edna McElravy Alley.

Captain John Alley led a crew in the 462nd Bomb Group, 58th Bomb Wing, XX Bomber Command in the China-Burma-India theater. He and four of his normal 462nd crew were assigned to temporary duty with the 2nd Air Transport Squadron, a C-109 tanker unit to haul fuel from India to Bomber Command’s advance base in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The C-109 was a converted B-24 with limited armament and additional fuel tanks.

On September 16 1944, the plane took off from Kalaikunda, India heading for Chengdu over the Himalayan Mountains. He was piloting C-109 42-51887. After takeoff, the base lost contact with the airplane. The crash investigation found that once the plane cleared Kalaikunda it was considered lost until reported found by natives in the high mountainous area between India and China at 29 degrees 35 minutes North, 103 degrees 05 minutes East. Wreckage was scattered over a 3-square mile area. Personnel effects found for one of the crew men identified the aircraft. Subsequent research pinpointed the crash site as Mt. Omei. Four other men perished in the crash.

His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig, Philippines and has a cenotaph located in Memory Grove Memorial, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA.

He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com