George Francis Johnson served in the 339th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Mechanic/Gunner on the B-17 #42-37808 'Special Delivery' during World War II.

On January 5, 1944, his crew took off from Station 138 airfield in Snetterton Heath, England, for a mission to bomb the Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in France. Shot down by fighters at 11:30 AM, they evacuated their plane by parachute. Their aircraft crashed near Lesparre-Medoc, France. Of the crew, five members were captured by the Germans and taken as prisoners. The five remaining members were able to evade the capture. TSgt Johnson was one of the POWs. He was sent to Stalag 17B in Braunau Gneikendorf, Austria.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net