John Hampton Luckadoo, known as “Lucky,” was born in 1922 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was just 19 when the attack on Pearl Harbor spurred him to enlist in the Army Air Forces. Assigned to fly B-17 Flying Fortresses, he trained for more than a year before flying his first mission in June 1943. By then, his unit, the 100th Bombardment Group, had already earned the grim nickname “the Bloody 100th”, the New York Times reported.
Flying with the Bloody 100th
The 100th Bombardment Group faced staggering losses: 757 men and 229 planes over 306 missions. Luckadoo recalled commanders warning recruits to look around at their comrades, because only one in several would survive. Missions were flown in daylight without fighter escorts, exposing crews to relentless German attacks. Despite bristling with machine guns, B-17s were often overwhelmed by skilled Luftwaffe pilots and deadly anti-aircraft fire.
Harrowing mission over Bremen
Luckadoo’s most terrifying flight came on October 8, 1943, during a raid on Bremen. He watched a German fighter collide with a bomber above his plane, both exploding and nearly taking his own aircraft with them. His formation lost two-thirds of its planes that day, and his own bomber returned with an engine destroyed and freezing winds pouring through a shattered window. His survival underscored why his nickname, “Lucky,” stuck.
Completing his tour against all odds
At a time when the average life expectancy of a bomber pilot was 11 missions, Luckadoo survived the full 25 required to complete a tour by early 1944. By then, the arrival of long-range P-51 Mustang escorts reduced losses, but the price had already been enormous. Of the 40 pilots in his original training class, only four—including him—completed their tours. He left the service in 1946 with the rank of major and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, four Air Medals, and the French Legion of Honor.
Life after war and speaking out
After the war, Luckadoo studied business at the University of Denver and went into commercial real estate, helping develop Colorado’s first air-conditioned mall before expanding his ventures into Texas. Married to Barbara Howell in 1946, he lived a quiet civilian life for decades, rarely speaking of his combat years. Only later, at his wife’s urging, did he begin to share his story publicly to honor fallen comrades and remind audiences of the true cost of war.
Remembering through books and television
His experiences became central to Donald Miller’s book Masters of the Air and its Apple TV+ adaptation, on which he served as a consultant. Kevin Maurer’s Damn Lucky also chronicled his 25 missions. In later years, he appeared at events and in interviews, insisting he was not a hero but simply a survivor. His message focused on courage, loss, and the role of luck in surviving the deadliest air campaign of the war.
Final years and legacy
Luckadoo died on September 1, 2025, in Dallas at the age of 103 from congestive heart failure. He is survived by his daughter Elaine Abbott, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His passing marks the end of the Bloody 100th’s pilot corps, but his legacy lives on in the stories he preserved. “I’m not a hero,” he often said. “I’m a survivor.”
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