Honoring the Fallen: Cpl. James J. Ryan Jr.

Cpl. James J. Ryan Jr. sent home a photograph along with his letter of May 1, 1945. Pictured here are, in the front row, kneeling (left to right), Sgt. Loyal L. Fox, Cpl. James J. Ryan Jr., and Cpl. Alfred J. Magyar. Standing behind them are 1Lt. Frank P. Pulaski, 2Lt. Thomas H. Edgerton, and 2nd Lt. Wayne H. Senecal. Fox, Ryan, Magyar, and Senecal had all joined the 3rd Bomb Squadron in October 1944. Despite the poor quality, all of them sent copies home to their families. (Courtesy Lynn Magyar Zwigard, daughter of A. J. Magyar.)

With V-J Day a reality at last, men who had served with the 3rd Bomb Squadron were finally on their way back home. Fourteen of the squadron’s B-25s had been lost due to enemy action and mishaps on administrative flights, according to the squadron’s final monthly historical report. Although nearly every airman had at least one bail-out or crash-landing and consequent "walk-out,” only one American crew had been lost. Their fate remained unconfirmed until long afterward.

These were members of a six-man aircrew that failed to return from their mission in May 1945. Missing in action were 1Lt. Donald J. Davis, FO Barton L. Wherritt, 1Lt. Robert J. Koss, Cpl. James J. Ryan Jr., Sgt. James A. Wadlow, and Sgt. Loyal L. Fox. *

The 3rd Bomb Squadron was billeted at Peishiyi (Baishiyi) after its evacuation from Kweilin (Guilin) in September 1944, and “unflyable” weather persisted in the vicinity through the following month. Skies cleared enough on October 19 to allow planes to land. On that date, Sgt. Fox (A/P armorer-gunner) and Cpl. Ryan (A/P mechanic-gunner-flight engineer), along with 2Lt. Wayne H. Senecal (two-engine A/C pilot) and Cpl. Alfred J. Magyar (radio operator-mechanic-gunner), were transferred in. Favorable conditions ended later that afternoon, grounding planes again. The four new arrivals were placed on flying status in early November, but foul weather delayed operations for more than two months.

Born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park on February 27, 1924, Jimmy Ryan had spent his boyhood in Madison, Wisconsin. He dropped out of high school before completing his senior year to enlist as a private in the Signal Corps on December 4, 1942. He gave his place of employment as Pyramid Motors, his father’s automobile dealership. Ryan later trained as a mechanic on B-24 Liberators before transitioning to B-25 Mitchells and moving to China.

The long-awaited mission was finally off on January 15, 1945, heading deep into enemy-controlled territory. It was a joint operation that comprised nine B-25s from the 2nd Bomb Squadron, six from the 3rd, and three from the 4th, escorted by twelve 3rd Fighter Group P-40s (all these Chinese-American Composite Wing aircraft) and four 16th Fighter Squadron P-51s (from the 23rd Fighter Group, 68th Composite Wing). The Mitchells each carried eight 500-lb. GPs (general-purpose bombs). Their target was the Hankow storage area on the north bank of the confluence of the Han and Yangtze rivers. Cpl. Ryan flew on his first combat mission as tail gunner with Flight Officer Wherritt, for whom this was also his first mission. Crewmen reported large fires and columns of heavy, black smoke billowing to 6,000 feet. The successful Hankow docks raid was the only mission for the month by the 3rd Squadron then stationed at Peishiyi.

Ryan returned safely from a bailout on March 30. Four crews were briefed to bomb and strafe a 2,000-foot railroad bridge that crossed the Yellow River at Chungmow. Leading the first element, Capt. Frederick H. Greene Jr. flew A/C #722, with 1Lt. Frank P. Pulaski, Koss, Ryan, Magyar, and Fox as his aircrew, accompanied by a second B-25 with Chinese crew as his wing plane. Leading the second element, FO Wherritt flew with 1Lt. Davis, 1Lt. Robert E. Banger, Cpl. Robert E. Schlicher, Cpl. John J. DeFabritis, and Cpl. Robert G. Hugel, with a second Chinese-crewed B-25 on his wing. Each carried three 1,000-lb. GPs. The B-25s picked up an escort of four P-40s at Ankang. Capt. Greene later reported making three bombing runs over the target, but bomb release failed on the first pass. He released two on the second run that struck the north end of the bridge, and another hit in the center, knocking out a 75-foot span. Aircraft encountered moderate ground fire, and Wherritt’s wing plane received four hits.

On the third run, A/C #722 again hit the north end with its remaining bomb. Although Greene’s aircrew observed no hits, Sgt. Fox reported several bullet holes in the after part of the fuselage, as well as smoke coming from the left engine. Capt. Greene later confirmed a .30 caliber hole in the leading edge of the engine’s ring cowling and oil leaking behind the inboard cowl flaps. He climbed to 15,000 feet, hoping to gain enough altitude to clear enemy territory before the left engine froze. Greene took a heading back to Ankang, the nearest friendly field, but oil pressure began to drop, and the plane lost altitude.

To lighten the load, crewmen salvoed all loose equipment. They transferred gas from the left to the right engine, but the tank registered empty before the plane could reach the field. Greene gave the order to bail out thirty-five miles east of Ankang. Ryan (engineer/top turret gunner) jumped first, followed by Fox (tail gunner), Koss (navigator), Pulaski (copilot), Magyar (radio/waist gunner), and finally Greene. The plane went into a steep spiral before it crashed and burned on a sand bank in the Han River. Local militia located all crew members within three hours and conducted them safely back to their unit. The tired crew of downed A/C #722 (whose Chinese number had already been assigned to a replacement plane) received a warm welcome back in Liangshan on the evening of April 7.  

In a letter to his parents in Wisconsin dated May 1, Ryan made no mention of his recent adventure. Because the weather was a subject unlikely to arouse concern to the folks back home, he wrote: "It is raining out now and has been for too long to suit me. Naturally I can do no flying, but then again, neither can they." Bad weather had set in again, halting missions for about a week. Airmen were always frustrated by their inability to strike the enemy during periods of operational inactivity, and Ryan wanted to be back in the fight. **

He was in position as tail gunner for his final completed mission on May 15. Four planes, again led by Capt. Greene, had the railroad section between Hsuchang (Xuchang) and Chenghsien (Zhengzhou) as their target. Participating in this mission were Greene’s A/C #721 (with Pulaski, Koss, TSgt. Frank T. Jakubasz, DeFabritis, Fox, and Schlicher), A/C #719 (Wherritt, Davis, 1Lt. John F. Faherty, Cpl. Robert G. Hugel, SSgt. Jack Holmes, SSgt. Loren E. Gaffney, and Ryan), and two Chinese-crewed aircraft. They intersected the track twelve miles south of Hsuchang and made two bombing passes. On the first, at 1,000 feet, no bombs hit the tracks. Dropping down to 200 feet, the Chinese crews scored eight hits on the tracks and one hit on a string of box cars, damaging five or six. One of the American planes (its identity not stated in the report) scored two hits on the tracks south of Chenghsien. Three miles south of Hoshawkiao, crewmen sighted and strafed a locomotive, hitting the engine. Pilots dropped forty 250-lb. GPs; eleven were hits, with one that damaged the engine. Although one aircraft received five holes from small arms fire, one of them to the gas tank, all planes returned safely to base.

For five of these men, it was their final return.

Early on May 16, three American crews and three Chinese crews were briefed at Liangshan on separate targets in the Ichang (Yichang), Chengmen (Jingmen), and Shashih (Shashi) triangle in western Hubei Province. Their objective was to destroy enemy troops and supplies using fragmentation bombs on low-level raids.

A/C #722 was fifth on the runway in order of takeoff. The rocket-equipped B-25J-2 carried seventeen frags to bomb and strafe the Japanese-held airfield at Ichang. The pilot on this mission was 1Lt. Davis, with FO Wherritt as copilot, 1Lt. Koss as navigator-bombardier, Cpl. Ryan as radio-gunner (operating the top-turret guns), Sgt. Wadlow as engineer-gunner (in waist position), and Sgt. Fox as armorer-gunner (in the tail compartment). After taking off in good weather, A/C #722 became separated from its wing plane and made no further radio contact with the tower. A Chinese observer later reported that the Mitchell made several bombing and strafing passes over the airfield, killing between two and three hundred enemy soldiers and destroying large quantities of stores. The aircraft was hit by ground fire and crashed almost immediately on the field, burning as it went down. One unidentified man was reported to have bailed out, although other observers believed that all of them had parachuted from the plane. ***  

It is ironic that Jim Ryan had recently celebrated his twenty-first birthday, and this was his twenty-first mission. Even more so is that, for three of them, this was their second mission to be shot down aboard an airplane that bore the number 722.

In early June 1945, those listed as next of kin all received official notification that the aircraft had failed to return from the May 16 mission, and neither it nor any of its crew had been located. Ryan’s younger brother, Bill, remembered answering the knock on the door that night. It was a man with a telegram. “He asked if my mother was there . . . and then if my father was. I was only 13 then, but I knew even then why he wanted both my mother and dad there at the same time. He didn’t want either of them to bear the shock alone.”

Letters in early July from the Air Corps' Office of Personnel assured the families that a continuing search by land, sea, and air was being made to discover the whereabouts of missing personnel. “As our armies advance over enemy occupied territory, special troops are assigned to this task, and agencies of our government and allies frequently send in details which aid us in bringing additional information to you."

Later that month, Cpl. Ryan’s parents received a letter from a Catholic chaplain: "You may be pleased to know that on the preceding Sunday, your boy went to confession and received Holy Communion. So, no matter what happened, spiritually, he was prepared for it."

Despite having received official notification that their son was missing, the Ryans still held out hope that there was some mistake―that he had bailed out, or he had not been on the flight―"anything that would make him live.” They began a letter-writing campaign to learn more about what had happened to their son. If he was dead, how did he die? They wrote to the War Department and to Jim's buddies, desperately seeking answers.

Frank Jakubasz replied, "Yes, I knew your son, Jim, Mr. Ryan. He joined my squadron in China in November, I believe, and since then Jim and I had much fun joking and laughing." Jakubasz had participated in the same mission from which Ryan failed to return but as part of a different aircrew. He wrote that Jim often spoke of "the very fine people he had and of the girl he loved,” his fiancé Audrey. "He was just a boy, Mr. Ryan, as jolly as could be."

Al Magyar sent a letter written on Red Cross stationery. He was with the crew that had searched for the missing plane when it failed to return from its mission. "I had gotten to know Jim well," he wrote. "We lived, trained and fought together. I am proud to be a member of that crew and to have flown with Jimmy. He became one of my best friends and I shan't forget him, ever." He wrote again after he had learned more, providing the few additional details that had been learned about the crash since his earlier letter. Magyar wrote a third time to offer his condolences. ****

Details were relayed to the families as they became available. A Chinese officer stationed at Ichang told the story through an interpreter. The six men were buried side by side outside the city. Next of kin all received official notifications in February 1946 of the deaths of the six men previously listed as missing in action.

In late 1948, official letters confirmed that five had died in the crash and were buried by the enemy in a common grave at Ichang. The sixth crew member was injured as he parachuted out and later died from his wounds. His remains were buried in the grave with those of his comrades. Chinese villagers built a ceremonial arch in honor of the “six brave soldiers” who came from far away to help them in their fight against the invaders, according to a newspaper clipping kept by the mother of 2Lt. Wherritt (commissioned while he was still MIA).

Although Jim Ryan’s parents preferred that he remain where he was buried at Ichang, the American Graves Registration Service recovered all six bodies. They were reinterred with full military honors on January 24, 1946, at the American Military Section of Hungjao Road Cemetery in Shanghai. Later these remains were taken to Hawaii, where their individual identifications were established. They were casketed and held at United States Army Mausoleum #2 at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, pending disposition instructions from the next of kin, either for return by ship to the United States or for permanent burial in an overseas cemetery.

Remains of 1Lt. Davis, 2Lt. Wherritt, 1Lt. Koss, and Sgt. Wadlow were returned by ship and then by train to their hometowns for reburial in the summer of 1949.               

Remains of Sgt. Fox and Cpl. Ryan were reinterred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (popularly called “the Punchbowl”) at Honolulu on December 1, 1949. Family friends who lived nearby placed flowers on Jimmy Ryan's grave every birthday, Christmas, Easter, and Memorial Day.

Audrey June Skoien, Ryan’s fiancé whom he called “Aud,” never married but focused her life on a career as an accountant that took her first to California, then to New York, and finally back to Wisconsin. She was employed until retirement by the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Conservation.

His younger sister, Mary Lucille, recalled going with her family on a kind of "pilgrimage" to Hawaii during summer vacations. After visiting the grave of her brother, they always walked the few steps to pay their respects at the grave of Loyal Fox. When Jimmy Ryan’s father died in 1961, he left a bequest of $1,000 to the Pacific War Memorial Commission at Honolulu in memory of his eldest son.

All six members of the ill-fated May 16 mission were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

* For more information, see blog posts: “Honoring the Fallen: 1Lt. Donald J. Davis,” 7/13/2024; “Honoring the Fallen: 2Lt. Barton L. Wherritt,” 7/16/2024; “Honoring the Fallen: Sgt. James A. Wadlow,” 7/17/2024; and “Honoring the Fallen: 1Lt. Robert J. Koss,” 7/21/2024.

** Kenneth Lancaster, brother-in-law of James J. Ryan Jr., email message to author April 7 and 16, 2016. Includes photos and newspaper article: “Lew Scarr,” [no further title], The San Diego Union (San Diego, CA), June 30, 1963, b-1, and July 1, 1963, b-1.

*** See “Downed Baker Two Five,” 5/21/2025 blog post.

**** Lancaster.

There is far more to this tragic tale. You can find details in The Spray and Pray Squadron: 3rd Bomb Squadron, 1st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing in World War II.