2Lt Ambrose Joseph Finnegan, Jr

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56767329/ambrose-joseph-finnegan Ambrose served as a Second Lieutenant, Headquarters, Fifth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

He resided in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania prior to the war.

He enlisted in the Army on January 21, 1942 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. He was noted as being employed as a Salesmen and also as Single, without dependents.

Ambrose, while a passenger on A-20G "Black Sunday" (#42-86768), was declared "Missing In Action" when the A-20G crashed at sea for unknown reasons during the war.

He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Service # O2036172

The pilot's mother, Mrs. Leona Carr who resided in Santa Monica, California, received a letter from General Douglas MacArthur which noted her son Harold & his crew were on a personal mission for him at the time of his passing.

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Airmen who perished on A-20G #42-86768:

Cardwell, Ashford H., T/Sgt, Gunner, LA Finnegan, Ambrose J., Jr., 2nd Lt, Passenger, PA Prince, Harold R., 1st Lt, Pilot, NY

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Airmen who survived from A-20G #42-86768:

Zulkus, Anthony, T/Sgt, Engineer

Bio & Crew Report by: Russell S. "Russ" Pickett

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Ambrose Finnegan was the uncle of Vice President Joseph Biden.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Oct 23 2020, 3:52:44 UTC

On May 14, 1944, an A-20 havoc (serial number 42-86768), with a crew of three and one passenger, departed Momote Airfield, Los Negros Island, for a courier flight to Nadzab Airfield, New Guinea. For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea. Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft's nose hit the water hard. Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge. An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.

Second Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Pennsylvania and served in Headquarters, Fifth Air Force. He was the passenger on this Havoc when it was lost. He has not been associated with any remains recovered from the area after the war and is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Finnegan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.