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name
GILLILAND, Avery Minta - Date of
birth
12 July 1918 -
Age
26 -
Place of birth
Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas -
Hometown
Yuma, Yuma County, Arizona -
Ethnicity
White
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-682847 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Co-Pilot -
Unit
828th Bombardment Squadron,
485th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
26 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Korzonek, Poland
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle -
Tablets of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
Avery O. Gilliland (father)
Alma Gilliland (mother)
Ralph M. Gilliland (brother)
Virginia A. Gilliland (sister)
Lucille V. Gilliland (sister)
Lois M. Gilliland (sister)
Norma Y. Gilliland (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50486 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Butch
Destination: Blechhammer, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the Blechhammer South synthetic oil refinery
MACR: 10924
More information
2nd Lt Avery M. Gilliland was a mail clerk before he enlisted on 20 March 1941.Approximately one minute after bombs away, which was at 1230 hours, flak made a direct hit on this airplane just aft of the bomb bay by the ball turret. The aircraft then broke in half and started to spin to earth. All nine crew members were killed.
All nine crew members were killed.
Blechhammer was the name of an area in Upper Silesia, containing chemical plants, prisoner of war camps and a forced labor subcamp of Auschwitz. It is now a city in Poland with the name Kedzierzyn-Kozle.
Between 2021 and 2025, partner-led teams working with the DPAA conducted excavations at the crash site. Evidence recovered, including human remains, diagnostic aircraft wreckage, and an identification tag bearing Gilliland's name, was transported to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. There, scientists used modern forensic techniques to identify Gilliland.
On 25 June 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, announced that Lt Gilliland was accounted for.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Further information will follow (information added October 2026).
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.485thbg.org, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com Uyma Daily-Sun - 4 November 1944, DPAA
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, Michel Beckers, Jerry Whiting, 485thbg.org, Facebook