My great uncle, 2nd Lt. John Bob Marshall, was copilot of the B24 Liberator “Shack Happy,” part of the 449th Bomb Group, 717th Squadron. He was shot down en route to Ploesti on 5 May 1944. The story of that mission is well told here: https://donmooreswartales.com/2014/06/23/bob-herres/. John Bob did not make it home (according to the MACR 4714 documentation, he bailed out successfully, and seems to have made it to the ground unharmed, but then was killed by a peasant weilding an axe). With clues from the MACR documentation and help from the local Romanian consulate, I’ve recently determined that he is most likely buried in Ciuperceni, Romania, as are the three other KIAs from the same crew. I’m now trying to make contact with officials in Ciuperceni to verify that. I have a great photo of the flight crew which was sent back home from Topeka KS by John Bob to his brother, my grandfather, J.H. Marshall Jr. I’d love to know if any other members of the next generation of the Shack Happy crew members families have other details, photos, etc. that would tell me more about this man I never had the opportunity to meet.
Greg Marshall
Houston, TX
