About
Vietnam War (1955-1975)
John Lee McElroy was born in Eminence, Henry County, Kentucky, on May 29, 1932. He graduated from the University of Kentucky and then relocated to Schenectady, New York, to work for General Electric.
On March 13, 1956, John enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was a major serving with the 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, 7th Air Force. He was a navigator on a C-130B Hercules during Operation Rolling Thunder. On May 12, 1968, he was evacuating personnel from a military post that was being overrun by hostile forces when his plane was shot down and he was killed. John was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and remembered at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Kentucky.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry