John J. Gemborski was born on November 17, 1919, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He was the son of Sophia Wrzos Gembroski. He served in the 368th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B-17 #42-30782 “Rationed Passion” during World War II.

On January 11, 1944, his plane was shot down by fighters on a mission to Halberstadt. SSgt. Gemborski was evaded and kept hidden by local resistance fighters while awaiting arrangements with the seven other airmen, to escape back to England. They were captured after a betrayal by local collaborators and were taken to a wooded area where they were executed on April 22, 1944, and buried in a mass grave. SSgt. Gemborski is now buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherland, and was awarded the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com