John Bednarski was born on May 25, 1912, in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. He was the son of Andrew Bednarski and Mary Bednarski. He was the husband of Wilma L. Jones Bosserman. He enlisted in the service of January 17, 1942. He served in the 784th Bomb Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B-24H #42-52596 nicknamed ''Mammy Yokum'' during World War II.

On April 8, 1944, B-24H Liberator Mammy Yokum, piloted by Second Lieutenant Robert E. Bryans, was shot down over Germany while participating in a combat mission with the United States Eighth Air Force. Operating from RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk, England, the aircraft came under attack from a German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 fighter while flying over northern Germany. The Liberator sustained fatal damage and crashed approximately two kilometers north of Lehmbruch, south of Diepholz, Germany, although some historical records associate the crash with the Oldenburg area. Of the ten crew members aboard, six were killed in action, while the remaining four successfully parachuted from the stricken bomber. The survivors were subsequently captured by German forces and held as prisoners of war.

SSgt Bednarski was killed in action and is buried alongside his fellow crew members, SSgt Bosserman and TSgt John Karatkiewicz, at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.readkong.com, www.crouze.com