FOUND WW2 Dog Tag James J. Bell of Idaho

Mick B. wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this request to help return a WW2 dog tag to its owner or descendants:

Found at Seething Airfield England a dog tag marked James J Bell

Number 0-742831  T4243.

It would be great to return it to the family - is this something you could help with.

As my readers can see from the image on the left, the dog tag contains more clues. The name Emma E. Bell is there, as is a location of Harrison, Idaho

Hopefully some of my wonderful readers will jump in to help Mick find James, Emma, or descendants.

Lorine's Research

I found information showing James was a pilot and a 2nd Lieutenant during WW2. Source http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/109318

There is also a pdf file which indicates 2nd Lieutenant James J. Bell was the pilot of REPLACEMENT CREW #21 - Aircraft #41-28595 in the 713th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON ordered to England.

This photo is of James and his crew in front of their airplane. According to the names on the verso (back) of the photo, James is the third man from the left in the front row.

Photo: The James Bell crew, from the 2^nd Air Division Digital Archive http://www.2ndair.org.uk/digitalarchive, catalogue reference MC 371/349, USF PH 7/1. Published on Olive Tree Genealogy blog with permission of 2nd Air Division Memorial Library

If you choose the third photo at this photo link you will see another great image of James. He is the third man from the left in the front row.

James' obituary was found online:

OBITUARIES DR. JAMES J. BELL

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Saturday, November 8, 2003

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10, 2003, in Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes for Dr. James J. Bell, who died Nov. 5 at age 82.

Dr. Bell was born Jan. 16, 1921, in Spokane. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and graduated from the University of Oregon Dental School. He was a dentist who lived in the Portland area most of his life and practiced in Lake Oswego. In 1948, he married Euretta "Peggy" Field.

Survivors include his wife; daughter, Kit; son, Jeff; and four grandchildren.

Remembrances to Friends of Tryon Creek State Park.

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Saturday, November 8, 2003

Oregonian, The () , obit for OBITUARIES DR. JAMES J. BELL, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/10064B9D95E0558F-10064B9D95E0558F : accessed 28 March 2018)