John Oliver Buslee

First Lieutenant John Oliver Buslee enlisted into the Army Air Forces in April of 1943. He became an aviation cadet and received pre-flight training in Santa Ana, California. His primary flight training occurred in California, after which he was sent to Minter Airfield, California. He served as a flight instructor for a period of time at NAS Glenview in Illinois. After more training, he received his pilot's wings and a commission in Douglas, Arizona, in January 1944. Later that year, Buslee was sent to Europe where he served as a B-17 pilot with the 544th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group. He flew 18 combat missions over Europe. On Sept. 28, 1944, Buslee was flying B-17G s/n 43-37822, nicknamed "The Lead Banana," on a bombing mission over Magdeburg, Germany. After the formation dropped their bombs on their targets, B-17 s/n 42-31222, nicknamed "Lazy Daisy," collided with Buslee's B-17. Both Buslee's B-17 and Lazy Daisy broke apart midair. Sadly, Buslee was not able to bail out and was killed in the accident. First Lieutenant John Oliver Buslee was reinterred at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois, on Feb. 3, 1949.