Displays

Jack W Haggard Pilot P-38 42-67473 "Second Front" 474th Fighter Group

On 11 October 1944 Jack was flying P-38 serial number 42-67473 named "Second Front."  On this day at 1640 hours (4:40PM) he was returning to base in a rain storm.  Due to poor visibility he landed approximately 75 yards short of the runway, the aircraft bounced and settled back down, nose wheel first.  The nose wheel collapsed and the aircraft skidded to a stop on its nose.  Jack was not injured but the aircraft suffered a lot of damage.

Jack Wilson Haggard was born on 13 September 1922 in Oklahoma City to parents John and Francis.  He was one of nine children.  He joined the Army Air Corps on 19 June 1943.  He became a P-38 pilot with the 474th Fighter Group, 430th Fighter Squadron.  He married Patricia "Patty" Sue Brackin and they had one son, Duane.

We have on display the instrument panel and control wheel from this P-38 serial number 42-67473 named "Second Front."  They are in the same condition as they were when removed from the plane by a young Belgian man at the end of the war.

Jack was killed in another P-38 accident just after the war's end. On 8 June 1945, Jack was making a routine flight from airfield Y-52 at Nice, France to the 474th's German base at airfield R-2 near Bad Langensalza. He crashed in bad weather in hilly terrain between the villages of Belmont and Bellfosse, France, just west of Strasbourg.  He is buried at the American cemetery in Epinal, France.

The photo showing the P-38 Second Front was sent to us by Gary Koch President/Historian 474th FG Association.  The photos of Jack and his wife Pat were sent to us by his Nephew Dr. Lloyd Haggard.