John Reid Denton, Jr.

John Reid Denton, Jr. Image Source: "Those Killed In The Services." Tecoan 1945. UA50-01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

John Reid Denton, Jr., was born in Lenoir County, N. C., on January 1, 1920, the first son of John Reid Denton, Sr. (1894-1969), and his wife Ethel Lee Denton (1895-1957). His family later moved to Raleigh once his father took a position with the State Highway and Public Works Commission. He attended ECTC and then worked in Raleigh for the U. S. Treasury Department’s Disbursement Office and the Raleigh Gas Company.

Denton received his pilot’s wings in September 1942. Following several months of training at Roswell, New Mexico Army Flying School, Denton was promoted to first lieutenant and made pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress. He was subsequently stationed in England as part of the Army Air Corp’s Eighth Air Force, serving as a flight commander with a bomber squadron engaged in the Eighth Air Force’s “all-out offensive against Germany.”

Denton’s group participated in the strategic incendiary bombing raids of Hamburg, Germany, called “Operation Gomorrah,” conducted during the last week of July 1943. The Hamburg firebombing destroyed most of the city and killed an estimated 37,000 civilians. Denton’s plane was shot down on July 26 as it was returning from one of the last raids. Initially the War Department reported Denton missing in action, but later concluded that he had been lost in combat.

Lt. Denton’s family received on their son’s behalf the Purple Heart awarded posthumously for his bravery in battle. The award was accompanied by letters to Denton’s family by General H. H. Arnold and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.

When Denton was reported missing in action, many in North Carolina were led to believe that he had been piloting the “City of Raleigh” B-17 Flying Fortress purchased with War Bonds sold by the Women’s Division of the Wake County War Savings Staff and named by the Colonel Polk Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Supposedly, Josephus Daniels had secured approval from the War Department for Denton to pilot that bomber. Later reports established, however, that the “City of Raleigh” Flying Fortress had not arrived in England, the base of operations for the Eighth Air Force Bomb Group, at the time of Denton’s death.

Denton was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D. C.

Sources:

• Brown, Rosalie. “With The Armed Forces.” Teco Echo. November 24, 1943. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37929
• “Denton Reported Killed In Action.” News and Observer. November 14, 1943. P. 16.
• “General Arnold Praises Record of Raleigh Flier Killed in Raid on Germany.” News and Observer.
• “Here’s Proof That Enemy Will Hear From Raleigh: Flying Fortress Named ‘City of Raleigh’ Piloted By Local Boy.” News and Observer. July 5, 1943. P. 2.
• “Those Killed In The Services.” Tecoan. 1945. No page numbers given. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15350
• “Today’s Bond Auction Is Chance To Hack the Axis.” News and Observer. September 20, 1943. P. 2.

Related Materials

John Reid Denton, Jr. Image Source: Tecoan 1938. UA50-01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

John Reid Denton, Jr. Image Source: News and Observer. July 5, 1943. P. 2.

John Reid Denton, Jr.’s Draft Registration Card. Image Source: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.Ancestry.com

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