French Villagers Honor Aggie Hero Of WWII

Submitted by Robert W. Ricks
Redwood City, California

My uncle, John E. Carpenter, Jr., graduated from Texas A&M in 1940. He was killed over Molac, France, in 1943 while serving as a navigator on a B-17 that had just bombed the Nazi submarine pens at St. Nazairre. His name is on your Hall of Honor. 
 
Two planes crashed in the small town of Molac on that date. I recently found a memorial that the citizens of Molac had dedicated to the men killed that day. It was a big deal, as Molac was only 1,500 people. 

My wife and I visited the memorial in May. The story of my visit was really great. I was only to meet my French contact, Frank, take a few photos of the memorial, and move on. To my surprise, Frank had the mayor there and about 20 older citizens that just wanted to say thank you to me and my family for our sacrifice to save them in World War II. It was very emotional and unexpected by me.
 
I was also taken to the lake where John's plane BOOMERANG crashed and heard the story of how the plane landed, how the French got his body off before it sank and what they did with it. I was then given a piece from the bomb bay door on his actual plane that had been found in the lake. They also had a photo of the navigator ruler Jack had used on the plane with his name scratched on it. The French people were all very nice to us. 
 
I thought your association would enjoy this story about how one Aggie is still remembered in France after 71 years. 
 
Bob Ricks

Related story: French honor Aggie WWII hero Conrad John Netting III '40