James Mayo Bellows Jr.
He flew F-51 fighter-bombers in Korea.
See: http://www.truckbustersfromdogpatch.com/index.php?id=86, as follows:
Bellows, 1st Lt. James Mayo, Jr.- 12th FBS pilot KIA 18 June 1953. Bellows was flight leader on Mission Expire 17, airborne at 1830 on MPQ mission. The Number 4 man, Lt. Sprague, could not release his bombs so the flight turned North to attempt to salvo the bombs. After jettisoning bombs and again turning south, intense and accurate automatic weapons fire was encountered, some of which hit the lead in the engine section. Lt. Bellows aircraft was hit in the aft section and flamed out. The flight went to the emergency channel. The last transmission received by the flight was, “I’m at 3,000 feet and am being shot at. I’ll have to get out soon.” The pilot crashed in the aircraft. The flight stayed in the area until low on fuel and then withdrew. The pilots did not sight Bellows but a ground party recovered his body. The primary cause of the loss was due to enemy automatic weapons fire. The Air Force investigation recommended “that briefings stress avoidance of known AAA areas and that aircraft fly at altitudes where the guns are least effective.”
The Knoxville Journal, 11 August 1953
The body of First Lt. James M. Bellows Jr., believed to have been killed in the Korean War the day his son was born, was scheduled to arrive at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation yesterday, the Defense Department announced. James M. Bellows III was born June 17 and two days later the Defense Department announced that James M. Bellows Jr., 24, son of James M. Bellow Sr., 2016 White Avenue, had been killed while participating in Korean action. The jet pilot has another son, David, two. Lieutenant Bellows usually wrote a letter every day to his wife, Marcia, formerly of St. Joseph, Mich., but these letters stopped June 17 and the tragic news came two days later. Bellows was graduated from old Knoxville High School and Purdue University. He entered the Air Force in 1951. Lieutenant Bellows’ body was among 198 being returned to the United States aboard the SS Sharon Victory.
- Rank: First Lieutenant
- Date of birth: 11 June 1929
- Date of death: 18 June 1953
- County: Knox
- Hometown: Knoxville
- Service Branch: Air Force
- Division/Assignment: 18th Fighter Bomber Group, 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron
- Conflict: Korean War
- Awards: Purple Heart, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and Republic of Korea War Service Medal
- Burial/Memorial Location: Highland Memorial Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XXI, Top Panel
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