Jesse D. Gurley was born November 1920 in Arkansas to J. D. Gurley and his wife Julia (Harris) Gurley. Both of his parents were born in Arkansas. His father worked as a grocery merchant and passed away in 1924. In 1930, Jesse was living with his widowed mother and siblings in Union, White County, Arkansas. In 1940, Jesse was living with the family of one of his step-sisters in Beebe, White County, Arkansas where he had attended a local high school.

Jesse enlisted in the US Army Air Forces at some point but I was unable to find his enlistment record. He attended bombardier training and upon graduation received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. 2Lt Gurley was assigned to one of the initial crews of the 349th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, which flew B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.

The 100th BG was activated 27 October 1942 at Gowen Field, Idaho then moved to Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington. After receiving crews and aircraft, the group relocated again on 30 November 1942 to Wendover Field, Utah, where it added additional personnel, aircraft, and crews, and began operational training. On 1 January 1943, the aircraft and aircrews moved to Sioux City AAB, Iowa where they assisted in training of other groups bound for overseas. In mid-April 1943, the aircrews moved to Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska and received brand new B-17s. After additional operational training, the group's aircrews departed Kearney on 25 May 1943, flying the North Atlantic route to England, where the group was based at Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk.

On 25 June 1943, the 100th BG flew its first combat mission, sending 30 B-17s to bomb the U-boat yards in Bremen, Germany. In foreshadowing of dreadful things to come that would earn the group the nickname "The Bloody Hundredth", three aircraft and 30 men did not return from the mission. 2Lt Gurley was the bombardier of B-17F #42-3260 (known as "Angel’s Tit") that fateful day, piloted by 1Lt Alonzo Pelton Adams III. On the way to the target, the unescorted formation of B-17s was not properly assembled, likely due to a combination of the inexperienced crews and poor weather, making it especially vulnerable to attack by enemy fighters. As the scattered formation approached the coast of Germany, 2Lt Gurley's aircraft was last seen falling out of formation after a German Bf 109 fighter made a head-on firing pass, raking it with cannon and machine gun fire. Only one crewman, the navigator, was somehow able to escape the B-17, and became a prisoner of war. The other nine crewmen were either killed by the enemy fighters or perished when the aircraft exploded and crashed into the North Sea about 30 km north of Langeoog, Germany.

Jesse D. Gurley is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridgeshire, England.

Thank you 2Lt Gurley for your service and your sacrifice, you will not be forgotten.

Crew of 42-3260 "Angel's Tit"

Pilot, 1st Lt Alonzo P. Adams III (KIA)
Copilot, F/O George Z. Krech (KIA)
Navigator, 2nd Lt Nicholas Demchak (POW, survived the war)
Bombardier, 2nd Lt Jessie D. Gurley (KIA)
Top Turret Gunner/Engineer, TSgt John K. Sullivan (KIA)
Radio Operator, TSgt James D. Purcell (KIA)
Ball Turret Gunner, SSgt John G. Kruzich (KIA)
Waist Gunner, SSgt Edmonde J. Walker (KIA)
Waist Gunner, SSgt Norman Asbornsen (KIA)
Tail Gunner, SSgt Bryant Hutchinson (KIA)

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. SBTSProject/Arkansas/White.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at bob.al@storiesbehindthestars.org.

Sources:

1920 United States Federal Census
1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100th_Air_Refueling_Wing
100th Bomb Group Foundation, https://www.100thbg.com/
Missing Air Crew Reports, #271
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56290321/jesse-d-gurley

Jesse D Gurley