Son of Julian Gandara and Herminio Gandara, Joe was one of five brothers who all served our country during the same period. Staff Sergeant Gandara photographed the missions.

On May 14, the Jolly Rogers, along with the 43rd and 22nd Bomb groups, were to hit Maffin Bay and Sawar Areas. As 1st Lt John H. Savarese Jr, of the 320th Squadron was taking off, his number two engine caught fire. He was able to gain sufficient altitude to dump his bombs but the left wing dipped and caught the ground. The aircraft cartwheeled and on impact, was engulfed in fire.

S/Sgt, Serial No: 18102280, 320 Squadron (Moby Dick), 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force

AirCrew
1st Lt John H Savarese, Pilot
2nd Lt James T Wright, Co-pilot
1st Lt Carl F Gutman , Navigator
1st Lt Jeff D Montgomery , Bombardier
T/Sgt Edward J Protz, Flight Engineer
T/Sgt Georg L Ford, Radio Operator
S/Sgt Joe H Gandara, Gunner
S/Sgt James E Neilson, Gunner
S/Sgt William B McLain, Gunner
S/Sgt Clifford P Dockendorf , Gunner

Note: SSgt, US Air Force, World War II Burial:
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
San Antonio
Bexar County
Texas, USA
Plot: Section O Site 119