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| Lt (j.g.) Robert Neel was a F6F Hellcat pilot on the carrier USS Intrepid. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189228218/robert-william-neel https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Hellcat/VF6/pages/Grumman-F6F-3-Hellcat-VF-6-White-32-pilots-onboard-CV-11-USS-Intrepid-1944-01.html |
Robert William Neel, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Announcement: Later this month we will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
Announcement: Later this month we will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
Robert was born on January 17, 1920 in Medina, New York. His parents Robert and Tommie were both born in Georgia and moved back to Georgia after he was born. His father worked as an office supplies sales manager. Robert had one younger brother, Joseph, and two younger sisters. By 1940 Robert had completed two years of college and still lived at home.
Robert enlisted in the US Navy in February 1942. Three months later his brother Joseph, a University of Georgia graduate, volunteered for the army and at some point he was assigned to serve in the Army Air Forces. Meanwhile his mother served as the president of the American Women's Voluntary Service in Atlanta and was instrumental in raising more than $1 million in war bonds. In October 1942, Robert married Mildred Persons.
Joseph became a crew chief and electrician in the 533rd Bombardment Squadron 381st Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force.
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| Joseph Neel / ancestry.com North Fulton High School yearbook |
On June 23, 1943 the ground crew was loading the bombs onto the B-17 42-30024 Caroline when something went wrong and the ordnance exploded, obliterating the plane and the six crewmen on board. Joseph Neel was one of 15 ground crew who were killed, along with one airman in a nearby plane and a civilian bicyclist with the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Robert became a lt. (j.g.) serving as a F6F Hellcat pilot for VF-6 on the carrier USS Intrepid. On January 29, 1944 he was leading his division on the second attack of the day on enemy installations on Roi Island at Kwajalien. His plane was hit by enemy shell fire and crashed into the ocean.
His cenotaph grave is at Marietta National Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. His widow remarried and died in 1985. Joseph Neel's grave is at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Last year on this date I profiled Battle of the Bulge fallen James Smith, 30th Infantry Division. You can read about James 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
May you and your brother rest in peace. We live in the Louisville area and will be sure to visit Joseph in the spring.
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