John Gatrell served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant in the 729th Bomb Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force during World War II. A co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber - the Little Chum, Lieutenant Gatrell was killed when he lost control of the plane in very heavy turbulence near Horham Airfield, England on April 21, 1944. Pilot Dixson Wands (Kansas State, Alpha Omega '36) also perished in the crash.
