LEST WE FORGET
Sergeant John Arthur GIBSON
Service No: 405549
Born: Wagga Wagga NSW, 18 August 1911
Enlisted in the RAAF: 25 April 1941 (at Brisbane QLD)
Unit: 13th Bomber Squadron (USAAF)
Died: Air Operations: (13th Bomber Squadron Mitchell aircraft 41-12491), New Guinea, 23 May 1942, Aged 30 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Arthur Forbes Gibson and Eva Ruby Gibson; husband of Sylvia Doris Gibson, of Tabulam, New South Wales
Roll of Honour: Tabulam NSW
Remembered: Panel 7, Lae Memorial PNG
Remembered: Panel 134, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Sergeant Gibson, a Wireless Operator Air Gunner attached to the 13th Bomber Squadron, was reported missing on air operations in Mitchell 41-12491 over New Guinea on 23 May 1942. 41-12491 was damaged in aerial combat with four crew members killed during the battle. Captain Dickinson and Sergeant Webb were able to bail out before the aircraft crashed near Cape Loena.
The crew members of Mitchell 41-12491 were:
Captain Wesley E Dickinson (O-404165) (Pilot) Baled out, Safe
Sergeant John Arthur Gibson (405549) (Gunner)
Corporal Richard M Haley (11014921) (USAAF) (Gunner)
Corporal Earl R Sevene (11015350) (USAAF) (Supernumerary)
Sergeant J A Webb (6383911) (Bombardier) Baled out, Safe
Second Lieutenant Theodore G Wuerpel (O-431590) (USAAF) (Co-Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9301, Barcode 5523110
PacificWrecks.com Website