LEST WE FORGET
Captain John Holtham Hamon MASSIE
Service No: NX42188 (Australian Army)
Born: Sydney NSW, 18 March 1920
Enlisted in the Army: 7 August 1941
Unit: New Guinea Force Air Liaison Group
Died: Air Operations: (405th Bombardment squadron B-25 aircraft 41-30117), off Wewak, 18 August 1943, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Robert John Auright Massie and Phyllis Wood Massie, of Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Sydney NSW
Remembered: Panel 1, Lae Memorial PNG
Remembered: Panel 10, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Captain Massie was killed when Mitchell 41-30117, on a mission attacking airfields in the Wewak area, New Guinea, was shot down into the sea near Wewak. Three crew members were killed in the combat action and the aircraft was successfully ditched.
The crew members of 41-30117 were:
Major Ralph Cheli (O-399830) (Pilot and Aircraft Captain) (USAAF, Commanding Officer 405th Bomber Squadron) PoW (Executed) 4-5 March 1944 – Awarded the US Medal of Honor
Captain John Holtham Hamon Massie (NX42188) (NG Force Air Force Liaison Group)
Staff Sergeant Clinton H Murphree (6282173) (USAAF) (Gunner) PoW (did not survive)
First Lieutenant Vincent A Raney (O-437474) (USAAF) (Navigator)
Technical Sergeant Raymond C Warren (15088088) (USAAF) (Radio Operator) PoW (did not survive)
Flight Officer Don M Yancey (T-186492) (USAAF) (Co-Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Baker, N. (Nicola) More Than Little Heroes: Australian Army Air Liaison Officers in WWII, Australian National University Canberra ACT 2600, 1994
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record B883, NX42188
PacificWrecks.com Website