LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant John Edward MacLEOD
Service No: 416591
Born: North Adelaide SA, 1 May 1921
Enlisted in the RAAF: 21 July 1941
Unit: No. 76 Squadron
Died: Prisoner of War (Executed) (following loss of No. 76 Squadron Kittyhawk aircraft A29-303 on 5 December 1944), Netherlands East Indies, 19 December 1944, Aged 23 Years
Buried: Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia
CWGC Additional Information: Son of Alexander Norman and Mary Ellen Macleod; husband of Lesley Catherine Macleod, of Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia. Royal Humane Society Medal.
Roll of Honour: Unknown
Remembered: Panel 104, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
Remembered: World War II Honour Roll, National War Memorial of SA, North Terrace, Adelaide
While attacking enemy positions on 5 December 1944, Flight Lieutenant Macleod in A29-303 was shot down and successfully ditched in Seckar Bay (02.44 degrees South 132.28 degrees East). Valiant attempts by fellow squadron pilots were ultimately unable to prevent his capture and he was not found during searches on succeeding days.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veteran’s Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9845, 9
Bibliography:
Wilson, D. (David) The Decisive Factor: 75 and 76 squadrons Port Moresby and Milne Bay 1942, Banner Books Brunswick VIC 3056, 1991
Wilson, S. (Stewart) Spitfire, Mustang and Kittyhawk in Australian Service, Aerospace Publications Weston Creek ACT 2611, 1988