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| Tech Sergeant Lloyd Kile was the radio operator on the B-24 Fyrtle Myrtle. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61102279/lloyd-e_-kile http://www.b24bestweb.com/fyrtlemyrtle-v2-1.htm |
Lloyd Eldon Kile never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 31, 1919 in Kansas. His parents William and Fracia were born in Texas and Illinois, respectively. His father worked as a farmer and mill flour packer. Lloyd had one younger brother and one younger sister.
He was drafted into the army on February 23, 1942. He reached the rank of tech sergeant and served as a radio operator in the 513th Bombardment Squadron, 376th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force, which was equipped with B-24 Liberators. The 376th BG was originally codenamed HALPRO and assigned to bomb the Japanese from bases in China. However, on the trip there via Brazil and then Egypt, they learned that the Chinese airfields had been captured by the Japanese, so the B-24s stayed in Egypt in June 1942 to help fight Rommel and the Afrika Korps. When the Germans were defeated, the 376th BG operated out of North Africa and flew missions to Italy and the Balkans.
On July 16, 1943 the 513th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to bomb the airport facilities in Bari, Italy. Sgt. Kile was the radio operator on the B-24 42-40236 with the nickname Fyrtle Myrtle. The bombing mission was successful, but on the way back, the squadron was attacked by German and Italian fighters. Fyrtle Myrtle's engine #3 was knocked out, causing it to drop out of formation and attract more enemy attacks. Soon the fuselage was on fire and the pilot gave orders to bail out. Three men did. Sgt. Kile's parachute had been destroyed in the fire so he stayed onboard. The plane fell out of the sky in a spiral and exploded before hitting the ground.
More details of this final mission can be found here.
His grave is at Prairie Lawn Cemetery in Wellington, Kansas.
Last year on this date I profiled Stanley Janik, 82nd Airborne Division. You can read about Stanley here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Imagine the horror this young man went through knowing he could not save himself.
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