Joe B Maloy, Jr.
1923 - 2006
Joe B. Maloy, Jr., age 82, died January 30th, 2006. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on November 8th, 1923, the son of the late Joe B. Maloy, Sr. and Lucretia Boothe Maloy. After graduating from Sidney Lanier High School in 1942, he was drafted into the Army and volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was originally assigned to pilot training. However, he was afraid World War II would end before he finished that lengthy training and asked to transfer to gunnery school.
He became a ball turret gunner on a B-24 ("Liberator") Bomber with the 392nd Bomb Group, 577th Squadron stationed at Wendling, England. His plane was shot down by German fighters on his third mission, April 29th, 1944, after a 1,000 plane raid on Berlin, Germany. Maloy and five other survivors of the ten man crew were taken as POWs. He was sent to Stalag XVII-B (Stalag 17) in Krems, Austria where he stayed until April 8th, 1945.
At that time, the 4,500 American airmen in the camp were marched 180 miles in 14 days and herded into a forest without food. As they neared the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, the Nazis forced the Jewish victims out to make room for the Allied POWs, who were to be killed to prevent them from rejoining the Allied Forces.
Years after the war, when Joe Maloy learned that some authors were denying the existence of the Holocaust, he became enraged and dedicated himself to writing a personal history as an eyewitness of Nazi atrocities against the Jews. Maloy and his fellow POWs were liberated on May 3, 1945. Included among his military decorations are the Victory in Europe Medal, the POW Medal, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.
After the war he returned to Montgomery and married Ida Merle Weston in 1947. Their only child, William Bruce Maloy, was born in 1953. Maloy received both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in engineering from the University of Alabama. He worked for short periods for both St. Regis Paper Company and Dupont before going to work for Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
During his 33 years with Kimberly-Clark he held various engineering and management positions. He was a Registered Professional Engineer for 33 years. During the period 1950 - 1970, Maloy taught mathematics, engineering, and management courses (evening classes) for Pensacola Junior College, the University of Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis), and Augusta College.
Upon retirement, Joe and Ida moved to Peachtree City to be near their son Bruce, his wife Leslie Bryan, and their granddaughter Whitney Hanan Maloy. Joe had become an avid runner and the golf cart paths offered the perfect track. He ran every day until he was in his late seventies. He was an active member of the Peachtree City running Club and treasured his 10,000 mile jacket.
He was a voracious reader and student of the southern vernacular. He and the late Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Celestine Sibley corresponded for years over the origins of southernisms like "I'm bounden to" and "I'm fixing to go."
On July 17th, 1996, he carried the Olympic Torch in Peachtree City, Georgia. He was selected by the Coca Cola Company to represent veterans and former POWs of World War II. His run was shown on national television. He carried the torch beginning in Peachtree City with the names of his air crew comrades clenched in the fist carrying the torch.
He died among family and friends at the Fayetteville Piedmont Community Hospital where Ida Maloy had volunteered for 18 years. A memorial ceremony was held in Peachtree City on February 18th at 11:00 AM at the First Baptist Church of Peachtree City. His cremated remains are buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
He is survived by:
His wife of 59 years, Ida Weston Maloy, Peachtree City, Georgia
His son William Bruce Maloy of Atlanta, Georgia
His daughter-in-law Leslie Bryan of Atlanta, Georgia
His granddaughter Whitney Hanan Maloy of Atlanta, Georgia
His sister Anne Bowles Montgomery, Alabama
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to:
American Cancer Society
American Kidney Foundation
First Baptist Church of Peachtree City
Fayette Piedmont Community Hospital
He became a ball turret gunner on a B-24 ("Liberator") Bomber with the 392nd Bomb Group, 577th Squadron stationed at Wendling, England. His plane was shot down by German fighters on his third mission, April 29th, 1944, after a 1,000 plane raid on Berlin, Germany. Maloy and five other survivors of the ten man crew were taken as POWs. He was sent to Stalag XVII-B (Stalag 17) in Krems, Austria where he stayed until April 8th, 1945.
At that time, the 4,500 American airmen in the camp were marched 180 miles in 14 days and herded into a forest without food. As they neared the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, the Nazis forced the Jewish victims out to make room for the Allied POWs, who were to be killed to prevent them from rejoining the Allied Forces.
Years after the war, when Joe Maloy learned that some authors were denying the existence of the Holocaust, he became enraged and dedicated himself to writing a personal history as an eyewitness of Nazi atrocities against the Jews. Maloy and his fellow POWs were liberated on May 3, 1945. Included among his military decorations are the Victory in Europe Medal, the POW Medal, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.
After the war he returned to Montgomery and married Ida Merle Weston in 1947. Their only child, William Bruce Maloy, was born in 1953. Maloy received both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in engineering from the University of Alabama. He worked for short periods for both St. Regis Paper Company and Dupont before going to work for Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
During his 33 years with Kimberly-Clark he held various engineering and management positions. He was a Registered Professional Engineer for 33 years. During the period 1950 - 1970, Maloy taught mathematics, engineering, and management courses (evening classes) for Pensacola Junior College, the University of Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis), and Augusta College.
Upon retirement, Joe and Ida moved to Peachtree City to be near their son Bruce, his wife Leslie Bryan, and their granddaughter Whitney Hanan Maloy. Joe had become an avid runner and the golf cart paths offered the perfect track. He ran every day until he was in his late seventies. He was an active member of the Peachtree City running Club and treasured his 10,000 mile jacket.
He was a voracious reader and student of the southern vernacular. He and the late Atlanta Journal Constitution columnist Celestine Sibley corresponded for years over the origins of southernisms like "I'm bounden to" and "I'm fixing to go."
On July 17th, 1996, he carried the Olympic Torch in Peachtree City, Georgia. He was selected by the Coca Cola Company to represent veterans and former POWs of World War II. His run was shown on national television. He carried the torch beginning in Peachtree City with the names of his air crew comrades clenched in the fist carrying the torch.
He died among family and friends at the Fayetteville Piedmont Community Hospital where Ida Maloy had volunteered for 18 years. A memorial ceremony was held in Peachtree City on February 18th at 11:00 AM at the First Baptist Church of Peachtree City. His cremated remains are buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
He is survived by:
His wife of 59 years, Ida Weston Maloy, Peachtree City, Georgia
His son William Bruce Maloy of Atlanta, Georgia
His daughter-in-law Leslie Bryan of Atlanta, Georgia
His granddaughter Whitney Hanan Maloy of Atlanta, Georgia
His sister Anne Bowles Montgomery, Alabama
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to:
American Cancer Society
American Kidney Foundation
First Baptist Church of Peachtree City
Fayette Piedmont Community Hospital
Stan Robinson (1970)
Found on a World War II History Site
REMEMBRANCES
Joe B. Maloy
392nd Bomber Group
577th Squardron
B-24 Liberator
He was born Nov. 8, 1923, in Montgomery, Ala., the son of the late Joe B. Maloy Sr. and Lucretia Boothe Maloy. After graduating from Sidney Lanier High School in 1942, he was drafted into the Army and volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He was originally assigned to pilot training. However, he was afraid World War II would end before he finished that lengthy training and asked to transfer to gunnery school. He became a ball turret gunner on a B-24 "Liberator" Bomber with the 392nd Bomb Group, 577th Squadron, stationed at Wendling, England. His plane was shot down by German fighters on his third mission, April 29, 1944, after a 1,000 plane raid on Berlin, Germany.
He and five other survivors of the 10-man crew were taken as POWs. He was sent to Stalag XVII-B, Stalag 17, in Krems, Austria, where he stayed until April 8, 1945. At that time, the 4,500 American airmen in the camp were marched 180 miles in 14 days and herded into a forest without food. As they neared the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, the Nazis forced the Jewish victims out to make room for the Allied POWs, who were to be killed to prevent them from rejoining the Allied Forces. Years after the war, when he learned that some authors were denying the existence of the Holocaust, he became enraged and dedicated himself to writing a personal history as an eyewitness of Nazi atrocities against the Jews. He and his fellow POWs were liberated May 3, 1945. Included among his military decorations are the Victory in Europe Medal, the POW Medal, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
Joe B. Maloy Jr., 82, of Peachtree City, Ga., died Monday, Jan. 30, 2006.