WWII · Battle Death Record
John Jerstad
Major, U.S. Army Air Forces · Wisconsin
Medal of Honor
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- John Jerstad
- Entered the Service From
- Wisconsin
- Rank
- Major
- Service
- U.S. Army Air Forces
- Unit / Regiment
- 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- August 1, 1943
- Awards
- Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal
- Burial / Memorial
- Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neupré, Belgium
- Grave
- Plot C, Row 24, Grave 10
Their story
On August 1, 1943, during Operation Tidal Wave, Major Jerstad served as group leader and co-pilot aboard the B-24 Liberator "Hell's Wench" in the low-level attack on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania. After his aircraft was struck by flak and set ablaze, he pressed the attack and deliberately flew the burning bomber over the target to lead the formation, then was unable to gain altitude for the crew to bail out and crashed, killing all aboard. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.