Joseph Eaton Jr

Joseph Jackson Eaton Jr (born May 16, 1918 in Birmingham; died August 7, 1944 near Malmedy, Belgium) was a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces and a command pilot for the 34th Bomber Group, Heavy, Headquarters Squadron.

Eaton was one of two sons of Joseph and Lucy Downey Eaton. He grew up in Birmingham and attended Marion Military Institute before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1936. He graduated in 1940 and received his commission at Maxwell Field in Montgomery in March 1941, where he served as commandant of cadets. He held the same position at Moody Field in Valdosta, Georgia. He later served as group operations officer in Salinas and Blythe in California. Eaton completed pilot training at Hendricks Field in Florida in April 1943 and was then sent to Europe during World War II. His wife Alice and young son, Joseph III, resided in Allentown, Pennsylvania during his service.

Eaton was serving as command pilot on the B-24J Liberator called "Sunshine Rose". He and his crew were conducting a mission over Belgium. The aircraft's bomb bay was damaged by flak and Eaton steered out of formation and then began a climb. The plane was seen to apparently stall and was lost. Five of the crew, including Eaton, were never found. He was declared legally dead after a year and a day, on August 8, 1945. Markers were erected in his memory at the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Liège, alongside his parents at Oak Hill Cemetery, and alongside his widow (who married his brother James) at Heidelberg Union Cemetery in Pennsylvania.

References

• "Lt. Col. J. J. Eaton Is Declared Dead." (August 1945) The Birmingham News

External links

• Joseph Jackson Eaton Jr at Findagrave.com