John William Lemley was born on October 28, 1923, in Iowa. He was the son of Lawrence A. Lemley and Mildred E. Cannon Lemley.

He resided in Yakima County, Washington, prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on March 9, 1943, in Spokane, Washington. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Filling Station Attendant and also as Single, with dependents.

John served in the 782nd Bomber Squadron, 465th Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Gunner on the B-24 #44-41011 during World War II.

On August 3, 1944, his crew took off from Pantanella, Italy, on a bombing mission over Friedrichshafen, Germany. On their return, they were attacked and shot down by German aircraft. His aircraft crashed at Ehrwald, Tyrol, Austria. He is commemorated on a plaque in Ehrwald, but his place of crash inscribed is at Wampeter.

SSgt Lemley is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupré, Belgium.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, www.tracesofwar.com