Lilly, 2nd Lt. Robert W.

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2nd Lt. Robert William Lilley 
Born: 21 June 1922 – Illinois 
Parents: William & Myrtle Lilley 
Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 brother 
Home: 
– 1837 South Thirteenth Avenue – Maywood, Illinois 
Education: 
– St. Eulalia Grade School 
– Proviso Township High School 
– Class of 1941 
Occupation: 
– Welder – Chicago Metal Hose Company – Maywood, Illinois 
Enlisted: 
– U.S. Army Reserve 
– joined about 1940
– did not register with Selective Service
Inducted:
– U.S. Army Air Corps 
– 22 July 1942
– 25 January 1943 – Fort Sheridan, Illinois 
– entered service as an enlisted man 
Serial Number: O-753145 
Training: 
– Officer Candidate School 
– Santa Ana, California 
– Kirtland Airfield, Albuquerque, New Mexico 
– qualified as a bombardier 
Unit: 
– 721st Bomb Squadron, 450th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force 
Plane: B-24-H – “Deuces Wild” (another photo)  
– Serial Number: 41-29222 
– left United Stated from Florida 
– flew to South America 
– flew across the Atlantic to Dakar, Senegal, Africa  
– from Dakar, the plane flew to Manduria, Italy 
– the flight took twenty hours 
Engagements: 
– 26 successful bombing missions over Austria 
mission reports 
– 24 March 1944 – 27th bombing mission 
– Ball Bearing Works – Styr, Austria 
– briefing – 6:15 AM 
– planes took off in poor weather 
– on way to Styr, “Deuces Wild” and another B-24, “Yankee Fury,” collided
– crashed head-on into the Adriatic Sea  
– both crews were lost 
Missing in Action: 24 March 1944 
Declared Dead: 
– 20 August 1944 
Buried: 
– Tablets of the Missing – Florence American Cemetery – Via Cassia, Italy 
Medals: 
– Air Medal – 13 January 1944 – 23 January 1944 
– 1st Oak Leaf Cluster – 27 January 1944 – 10 February 1944 
– 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster 
– Purple Heart 

 

 

 

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