Today in Wheeling History: August 2—Master Sgt. John P. "Jack" Krueger, Wheeling bombardier killed in a crash piloted by future Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (1943).
John Paul Krueger was born November 13, 1918, in Wheeling, the son of Herman C. and Ellen Walsh Krueger of 1122 Eoff Street. He was active in local theater and minstrel shows before graduating from Wheeling Central Catholic High School in 1939, entering Army service that August 1. He trained as a bombardier in Hawaii and was stationed at Hickam Field during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
By 1943, Krueger was flying combat missions with the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, out of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). On August 2, 1943, Krueger was serving as bombardier aboard the B-17E "Yankee Doodle," bound for a routine morning sea search, when the aircraft failed to reach takeoff speed during its takeoff roll. Its brakes and tail wheel gave out in turn, and it crashed into trees at the runway's end, the impact crushing the nose — where Krueger and navigator Lt. Talbert "Shorty" Woolam were stationed — and killing them both. The pilot, 22-year-old Lt. Eugene "Gene" Roddenberry—later the creator of Star Trek—was absolved of blame and went on to serve as an Army Air Forces crash investigator.
Krueger was posthumously awarded the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his 35 combat flights. His remains were returned after the war, and he was reburied at Mt. Calvary Cemetery on March 17, 1948.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - High Masses of Requiem - John P. Kreuger, US Army (https://tinyurl.com/2j52zs36), Find a Grave - SGT John Paul Krueger (https://tinyurl.com/3baw7rx3), Wheeling News-Register - "Air Medal With Cluster and DFC Awarded to Late John P. Kreuger" [January 30, 1944] (https://tinyurl.com/23sa6vmd), Facebook - Space Hipsters - CAF Airbase Arizona - Crash of B-17E Flying Fortress "Yankee Doodle" (https://tinyurl.com/2e7ca47m), Wheeling News-Register - "Medal Awarded John Krueger" (https://tinyurl.com/495pvb28), HistoryNet - Before Gene Roddenberry Created Star Trek, He Cheated Death as a WWII Pilot in the Pacific (https://tinyurl.com/nhdum3yk), Pacific Wrecks - B-17E "Yankee Doodle" Serial Number 41-2463 (https://tinyurl.com/5a6mhbud)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV; Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Facebook – CAF Airbase Arizona, United States Army Air Forces
John Paul Krueger was born November 13, 1918, in Wheeling, the son of Herman C. and Ellen Walsh Krueger of 1122 Eoff Street. He was active in local theater and minstrel shows before graduating from Wheeling Central Catholic High School in 1939, entering Army service that August 1. He trained as a bombardier in Hawaii and was stationed at Hickam Field during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
By 1943, Krueger was flying combat missions with the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, out of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). On August 2, 1943, Krueger was serving as bombardier aboard the B-17E "Yankee Doodle," bound for a routine morning sea search, when the aircraft failed to reach takeoff speed during its takeoff roll. Its brakes and tail wheel gave out in turn, and it crashed into trees at the runway's end, the impact crushing the nose — where Krueger and navigator Lt. Talbert "Shorty" Woolam were stationed — and killing them both. The pilot, 22-year-old Lt. Eugene "Gene" Roddenberry—later the creator of Star Trek—was absolved of blame and went on to serve as an Army Air Forces crash investigator.
Krueger was posthumously awarded the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his 35 combat flights. His remains were returned after the war, and he was reburied at Mt. Calvary Cemetery on March 17, 1948.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - High Masses of Requiem - John P. Kreuger, US Army (https://tinyurl.com/2j52zs36), Find a Grave - SGT John Paul Krueger (https://tinyurl.com/3baw7rx3), Wheeling News-Register - "Air Medal With Cluster and DFC Awarded to Late John P. Kreuger" [January 30, 1944] (https://tinyurl.com/23sa6vmd), Facebook - Space Hipsters - CAF Airbase Arizona - Crash of B-17E Flying Fortress "Yankee Doodle" (https://tinyurl.com/2e7ca47m), Wheeling News-Register - "Medal Awarded John Krueger" (https://tinyurl.com/495pvb28), HistoryNet - Before Gene Roddenberry Created Star Trek, He Cheated Death as a WWII Pilot in the Pacific (https://tinyurl.com/nhdum3yk), Pacific Wrecks - B-17E "Yankee Doodle" Serial Number 41-2463 (https://tinyurl.com/5a6mhbud)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV; Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Facebook – CAF Airbase Arizona, United States Army Air Forces
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