I Company, 3rd Battalion 506th PIR, UNK date, but prior to D-day. John is most likely in this photo.

John Edward Bray Jr. was born on Friday April 21st, 1922 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, John Sr., was a Sergeant for the New Orleans Police Department and his mother, Mayme, appears to have been a homemaker. Base on the 1930 census, John was the only child.

In researching John, I can find no information about his younger years, other than they were spent in the City of New Orleans. In June of 1942, John registered for the draft and he was working for the Woodward Wright Company in New Orleans at that time. In September of 1942, John enlisted into the U.S. Army as an Infantrymen. John probably was not given any choice if he wanted to be in the infantry or not, but he volunteered for an elite group of warriors known as the Airborne Paratroops. John was sent to Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and assigned to Company I of the 3rd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The same one that was made famous by the HBO Band of Brothers series.

When John arrived at Camp Toccoa, he had to earn his spot in his unit through punishing training that tested the limits of each man both physically and mentally. Through this process many men failed to meet the test and were washed out into regular infantry units. But for those who made the cut, who were the cream of the crop, a certain type of bond or loyalty was created. In an article on the web site Military_history.org, it describes how the loyalty element was born in 1942:

“..during their early training at Toccoa, Georgia, in the shadow of Mount Currahee. The name Currahee came from a Cherokee word meaning ‘Stand Alone’, which became the motto of the 506th who were also nicknamed ‘The Currahees’. As a parachute regiment, it was intended that the 506th should be an elite fighting force so the training was extremely tough, but it turned raw recruits into soldiers capable of pushing themselves to the limits of their endurance and beyond in the most adverse circumstances. This ability, coupled with their amazing drive, largely born out of an unwillingness to let down their compatriots, led to a ‘one for all’ spirit…”

In 1943 John made the required 5 parachute jumps to earn the coveted Airborne Wings, which were proudly pinned above his breast pocket. John’s unit, the 506th, formally became part of the 101st Airborne and commenced a stateside training regimen that took them through the middle south of America that ended in Camp Shanks New York. From that point John, and the rest of the 101st Airborne, boarded ships and sailed for England.

Once in England, the training ramped up once again. Practice airborne jumps were made around the English countryside and military exercises in tactics were conducted. All of which were in preparation for the invasion of France.

In the late hours of June 5th, 1944, John was one of 16 Paratroopers assigned to the C-47A Skytrain, tail #42-100905, from the 95th Troop Carrier Squadron. This would be the plane that would fly John over the landing zones in Normandy where he would jump. The C-47 had the name “Donna Mae” painted on the front nose. John, along with the other paratroopers code-named “Chalk 15”, boarded the plane and it took off, headed for the skies over Normandy.

As John’s flight entered the hostile airspace over the Normandy coast, it would have experienced intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire from the Germans below. The Pilot of a plane flying next to John’s plane described that he last saw it as it entered a could bank. That was the last time anyone saw John’s plane. It was not util several days or even weeks after D-day that it was discovered that John’s plane was brought down by German anti-aircraft fire west of Magneville France with the loss of all on board. John and the other 16 paratroopers from his battalion, and the transport's 4-man crew were all killed in the crash.

John is memorialized on plaque (with the incorrect middle initial of T. on the memorial plaque) in Magneville, France, along with the other 16 paratroopers on board the transport, the transport's 4-man crew. John was initially interned a military cemetery in France and was returned in 1948 to his final resting place in Plot 16 Cedar Metairie Venus of Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I am grateful for the service and sacrifice of John and all the other men on board the C-47 “Donna Mae” that fateful morning of June 6th, 1944.

Rest in peace soldier as your sacrifice and service is recognized by a grateful nation and you will not be forgotten.

Let us remember the men who were on board the "Donna Mae", C-47 #42-100905, on the morning of June 6, 1944:

◼Ray B Pullen :: Pilot

◼John M Greeley :: Co-pilot

◼Finney W Gordon :: Navigator

◼Sidney H Saltzman :: Radio Operator

◼John E. Bray Jr. :: Paratrooper

◼Gilbert Amabisco :: Paratrooper

◼Donald E Bignall :: Paratrooper

◼Richard L Calhoon :: Paratrooper

◼Warren K Carney :: Paratrooper

◼James J Farrell :: Paratrooper

◼Gerald V Howard Jr :: Jump Master

◼John J Kittia :: Paratrooper

◼William E Olson :: Paratrooper

◼Howard A Phillips :: Paratrooper

◼Frederick P Smith :: Paratrooper

◼Robert L Todd :: Paratrooper

◼Orville R Vanderpool :: Paratrooper

◼Paul J Weber :: Paratrooper

◼Glen L Weirich :: Paratrooper

◼Clarence M Wright :: Paratrooper

◼John A Wright :: Paratrooper

Story by Troy Burnett 2-18-2021

This brief biography was written for the Stories Behind the Stars Project which is a national group of volunteers with the goal to preserve a written memorial on Fold3.com for all 400,000+ soldiers that were fallen during WWII. The hope is that eventually a smartphone app will be developed that will allow people to scan a soldier's gravestone and be able to access his/her story.

References:

https://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/506/506images/troopers/i/misc/506_companyi.jpg

https://www.military-history.org/regiment-profiles/the-story-of-easy-company-the-506th-infantry-regiment.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89700301/john-e.-bray

https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=478773

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