John W. Ewer (1917-1992)

This February 10, 1944, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 2, column 2:

Word has been received here that Staff Sgt. John Ewer, son of the Fred Ewers, has been wounded in action on the Italian front. No further news of his condition has been learned.

John, originator of the "repair shop on wheels," which has been adopted by the army, is in charge of a repair outfit in the mechanized division. John has also worked several successful inventions for airplanes which have been adopted by the R.A.F.

This March 2, 1944, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 2, column 1:

Contrary to recent reportes, Staff Sgt. John Ewer, son of the Fred Ewers of Lowell, was not wounded in action, but did suffer a broken ankle bone in an accident. In a recent letter to his parents, John discredited the former report, and, although he didn't mention how the accident happened, he did say it was a minor break and would require only a couple of weeks to mend. When the report first came out, it was supposed that John had been caught in an air raid by enemy bombers who are continually trying to wreck Allied air fields, on one of which John supervises work in a mobile airplane repair shop, somewhere in Italy.

The following August 17, 1944, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 1, column 4:

LOWELL SOLDIER WINS HIGH AWARD

T/SGT. JOHN W. EWER, 28, PRESENTED ARMED FORCES FOURTH HIGHEST MEDAL

The citation for his decoration reads in part: "For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services from July 1, 1942 to December 1, 1943. By diligent study of the complex mechanisms of the British Merlin engine when his group was equipped with Spitfire aircraft, T/Sgt. Ewer prepared himself and the men in his section for the difficult repair and maintenance problems which were to face them at front line airdromes in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. His ingenuity in designing and fabricating tools and parts was invaluable to his squadron and group, especially since many American tools with which his group was supplied could not be used in repairing British Spitfires. Near the end of the Tunisian campaign, Sgt. Ewer designed a filtering device which prevented dust and sand from interfering with the manifold pressure control for the Spitfire VIII and IX. So efficient was this device that it was immediately adopted by all Royal Airforce and American Spitfire units. The inventive talent of Sgt. Ewer made it possible for these aircraft to operate from the dusty airdromes of Malta and Sicily during the invasions of Sicily and Italy thereby greatly aiding the success of these invasions."

The group of which Sgt. Ewer is a member, is the oldest fighter group overseas in the Mediterranean theatre.

The following October 5, 1944, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 2, columns 3-4:

T/Sgt. John Ewer Wins Another Award

The Mustang group was cited for its outstanding performance of duty against the enemy on April 21, 1944. Despite having nearly reached the limit of their endurance after having flown over five hundred and eighty miles through almost insurmountable weather condition, the P-51's fought off a total of 60 enemy fighters, in two groups of 30 each, which threatened the bomber formation. By destroying 16 and probably destroying or damaging a number of others, the Mustangs enabled the seven groups of 15th air force heavy bombers, which had not received the recall signal sent out because of the adverse weather conditions, to complete a highly successful mission against the important enemy installations and production centers in the Ploesti-Bucharest area of Romania.

Both of the following June 14, 1945, Lowell Tribune articles were found on page 2, column 1:

S/Sgt. John Ewer arrived home Monday and is now visiting his parents, the Fred Ewers and his many relatives and friends here. John has just returned from Europe, where he spent the past two and one-half years as a mechanic with the air corps.

* * * * *

The Fred Ewers have received word that their son, S/Sgt. John W. Ewer, is back in the United States, and will soon be home on furlough. John has been overseas the past two and one-half years, serving as a mechanic in the air corps. During this time his outfit took part in the African, Italian and German campaigns.

This August 16, 1945, Lowell Tribune article was found on page 2, column 1:

S/Sgt. John Ewer, an instructor at Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill., was home over the week-end with his parents, Mrs. and Mrs. Fred Ewer.

The following article from the Lowell Tribune was dated Dec. 16, 1992, and can be found in the Local History Files at Lowell Public Library (LH--Vital Statistics, vol. 3, page 71):

Adelia

Julius

Last updated on June 11, 2009.

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John W. Ewer (1917-1992)