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Personal info

Full name
MILLER, Kent Francis
Date of birth
17 October 1922
Age
21
Place of birth
Wetzel County, West Virginia
Hometown
New Martinsville, Wetzel County, West Virginia

Military service

Service number
T-060679
Rank
Flight Officer
Function
Pilot
Unit
66th Bombardment Squadron,
44th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Finding of Death
Date of death
22 December 1943
Place of death
Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.

Immediate family

Members
Elmer Miller (father)
Louise Miller (mother)
Eugene Miller (brother)
Janet Miller (sister)
Helen P. (Rockwell) Miller (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-7638
Data
Type: B-24H
Nickname Big Banner
Destination: Münster, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 1714

More information

F/O Kent F. Miller worked in a glass factory.

He joined the Air Corps of the Army of the United States at Fort Hays, Ohio, on 6 January 1941.

The airplane was hit by flak over the target. Just after bombing the target, the airplane began to lag in the rear of the formation. It also began to lose altitude.
When the pilot realized that he would never be able to reach England, he gave the bail-out order. When four airmen jumped, it was observed that the B-24 was over water, so it was decided to ditch. The landing failed, and five men drowned.

It crash-landed in the IJsselmeer at a location that is now Flevoland. At the time of the crash, this island didn't exist and was still open water.

Out of ten crew members, only one survived the crash.

In 1975, while draining this part of the IJsselmeer, the wreckage was found, still containing the remains of five crew members: F/O Kent F. Miller, 2nd Lt Frank A. Passavant, T/Sgt James C. Childers, S/Sgt Stanley Pilch Jr. and 1st Lt Donald E. Shaffer.

The remains of four other crew members were washed ashore or picked up from open sea at various times during the six months following the crash.

F/O Kent F. Miller is buried in his hometown, New Martinsville, West Virginia.

Source of information: André Koch, Charles Miller (brother), Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.fold3.com - MACR 1714, http://teunispats.nl/, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, http://www.wvculture.org - Ananya Reddy

Photo source: André Koch, Randy Cochran / Charles Miller