John A. Pritchard
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John A. Pritchard Jr. (January 12, 1914 – November 28, 1942) was a
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
sman who died while attempting to rescue the crew of a
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
bomber that had crashed-landed in
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
in November 1942. Pritchard was the pilot of the USCGC ''Northland'''s Grumman J2F-4 Duck floatplane. When a
B-17 bomber The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
crash landed near ''Northland'' his aircraft was assigned to search for it. He sighted the bomber, and landed as close to the wreck as possible. Pritchard and his radioman, RM1 Benjamin A. Bottoms, were able to assist two of the injured bomber crew to their plane, and take them back to ''Northland''. However, on their second rescue visit they encountered bad weather, and crashed. It took seventy-five years to locate their bodies.


Early life

Pritchard was born in Redfield, South Dakota in 1914, and graduated from
Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (shortly as BHHS or Beverly) is a public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills is Moreno High School, a small alternative school located on Beverly Hills High School's c ...
in 1931. He enlisted in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
on March 1, 1932. He attended the
Naval Academy Preparatory School The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy (USNA). NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshi ...
until accepting an appointment to the
United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...
on August 20, 1934.Kroll, p 31


Coast Guard career

Pritchard graduated from the Coast Guard Academy on June 2, 1938, and his first assignment as a new
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
was on board with the
Bering Sea Patrol The United States Coast Guard is the Coastal defence ship, coastal defense, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and is one of the country's eight Uniformed services of the United St ...
. In August, 1940 Pritchard entered flight training at the Naval Air Training Center,
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. He graduated from flight training on February 15, 1941, becoming Coast Guard Aviator No. 82 before reporting to
Coast Guard Air Station Miami Coast Guard Air Station Miami is an Air Station of the United States Coast Guard located at Opa-locka Executive Airport in Opa-locka, Florida. The station operates the HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft and the MH-65 Dolphin helicop ...
.Kroll, p32Zuckoff, p 133 On June 2, 1941, he was promoted to
lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
. Pritchard was temporarily assigned to the aviation officer's
billet In European militaries, a billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. In American usage, it refers to a specific personnel position, assignment, or duty station to which a soldier can be assigned. Historically, a billet w ...
on board with the
Greenland Patrol The Greenland Patrol was a United States Coast Guard operation during World War II. The patrol was formed to support the U.S. Army building aerodrome facilities in Greenland for ferrying aircraft to the British Isles, and to defend Greenland wit ...
in February 1942 before returning to Miami for a short period. He then returned to ''Northland'' for aviation patrol duties and was promoted to lieutenant June 15, 1942. On November 23, Pritchard led a rescue party from ''Northland'' to a
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where a aircrew from the
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
had been stranded for thirteen days. The aircrew and the rescue party returned to ''Northland'' safely and Pritchard was awarded the
Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat Military awards of the United States Department of the Navy, decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United State ...
postumously for his leadership in the rescue. On November 28, the ''Northland''s radioman picked up faint signals from a USAAF B-17 bomber that had crashed on the Greenland ice cap. Pritchard and his radioman, RM1 Bottoms, volunteered to try a rescue attempt by landing on the ice; a feat that had never been successful before.Havern Pritchard and Bottoms landed on the ice about two miles from the bomber.Zuckoff, p 138 While Bottoms contacted the bomber by radio, Pritchard hiked across the ice cap to the bomber and helped two of the injured crew back to the aircraft. Pritchard told the bomber crew that the J2F-4 Duck could only carry two additional persons and that he would return the next day to pick up additional crew. After returning the injured to ''Northland'' safely, the two Coast Guardsmen took off on November 29 to attempt another landing near the bomber. After returning to the crash site, Pritchard made a successful landing on the ice and picked up another injured crew member and took off headed for ''Northland''. Weather closed in after the take off and Bottom's radio signals to ''Northland'' became weaker and finally stopped. The wreckage of the J2F-4 Duck was spotted later but rescue crews could get no closer than six miles from the Duck's crash site. Pritchard was declared missing in action on November 29, 1942 and declared dead on November 30, 1943. Both Pritchard and Bottoms were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross posthumously for their efforts to rescue the downed B-17 bomber crew.


Citations


References

* * } * } {{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, John A. 1914 births 1942 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy and Marine Corps Medal Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942 People from Redfield, South Dakota United States Coast Guard personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Greenland