John and Mildred Putnam<\/a>, flew fifty-two mission and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Cluster by downing six enemy fighter planes while flying a P-47 Thunderbolt.<\/p>\nHis group shot down ten enemy planes on one mission and established an unprecedented seventeen kills on July 3, 1944. His group destroyed 250 airplanes in the air and on the ground.<\/p>\n
They arrived back to Duxford, England, a few minutes after noon As the Duxford Diary reported, \u201cAs usual after a big day, nearly everyone on the base was feeling pretty good.\u201d Around 2:00 pm a visiting B-17 landed. Its captain offered to take some of Duxford\u2019s men for a ride in the aircraft. Several jumped at the chance, and by around 2:30 pm they were airborne.<\/p>\n
The B-17 buzzed the control tower and pulled up over a hanger. The neon blinker light atop the hanger sheared off most of the aircraft’s left wing and the left horizontal stabilizer. The crippled bomber rolled over, barely missing the officers\u2019 barracks, and crashed into the main barracks of the 83rd Fighter Squadron. All those in the bomber and one in the barracks died in the crash and the resulting explosion. It was the most significant loss of life in a single incident in Duxford\u2019s forty years as an operational airfield.<\/p>\n\t
Lieutenant Putnam\u2019s loss was ironic. Being a veteran of forty-four combat missions, he earned enough points for military discharge.<\/p>\n
John Putnam Jr. was born in 1921. He graduated from University School in 1939 and enrolled at Princeton. He never finished before enlisting in 1942.<\/p>\n
John loved duck hunting and nature, often spending hours in the woods to sketch and paint. A talented musician, he played piano by ear. He was very athletic, having won the ski championships while attending boarding school in Switzerland. In a tryout at Princeton, he out jumped the ski team. The Army offered him a commission to teach ski troops but instead became a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBack to People\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVeterans\u00a0 list\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People Veterans 1st Lieutenant John B. Putnam Jr. 12817 Lake Shore Boulevard Lieutenant John Putnam Jr. John Putnam, Jr., son of John and Mildred Putnam, flew fifty-two mission and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf Cluster by downing six enemy fighter planes while flying a P-47 Thunderbolt. His group…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1721","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bratenahl Historical Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-21T16:48:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-219x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/\",\"name\":\"John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/Putnam-John-Jr.-219x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-22T19:50:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-21T16:48:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/Putnam-John-Jr.-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/01\\\/Putnam-John-Jr.-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":1870,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"Lieutenant John Putnam Jr.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/index.php\\\/john-putnam-jr\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"John Putnam Jr.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bratenahl Historical Society\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bratenahl Historical Society\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/BHS-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/BHS-logo.png\",\"width\":480,\"height\":472,\"caption\":\"Bratenahl Historical Society\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bratenahlhistorical.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio","description":"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio","og_description":"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.","og_url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/","og_site_name":"Bratenahl Historical Society","article_modified_time":"2020-04-21T16:48:21+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-219x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/","url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/","name":"John Putnam Jr. - Bratenahl Historical Society - Bratenahl, Ohio","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-219x300.jpg","datePublished":"2020-01-22T19:50:21+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-21T16:48:21+00:00","description":"John Putnam Jr. - The Bratenahl Historical Society serves as a repository of historical documents, photos and other information pertinent to the Village of Bratenahl, Ohio and its residents.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-scaled.jpg","width":1870,"height":2560,"caption":"Lieutenant John Putnam Jr."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/john-putnam-jr\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"John Putnam Jr."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/","name":"Bratenahl Historical Society","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#organization","name":"Bratenahl Historical Society","url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/BHS-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/BHS-logo.png","width":480,"height":472,"caption":"Bratenahl Historical Society"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1721"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3947,"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1721\/revisions\/3947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Lieutenant](\"https:\/\/bratenahlhistorical.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Putnam-John-Jr.-219x300.jpg\" "\\"Putnam,")
\n\t\tLieutenant John Putnam Jr.\n\t