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name
ESTILL, Shannon Eugene - Date of
birth
26 June 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Oklahoma -
Hometown
Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-702781 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
428th Fighter Squadron,
474th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 April 1945 - Place of
death
A field in the village of Elsnig on Butterstrasse Road, Germany.
Elsnig near Torgau , Germany
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
Gordon E. Estill (father)
Lettucia Estill (mother)
Wesley B. Estill (brother)
Margery A. Estill (sister)
Mary (Taylor) Estill (wife)
Sharon Estill (daughter)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-104233 -
Data
Type: P-38J
Mission: Strafing
MACR: 14201
More information
After 1st Lt Estill graduated from high school in the spring of 1941, he went to work for John Deere in Moline, returning on weekends. He wanted to go to college, but when the war happened in 1941, everyone went to work and waited to be inducted. By the time Estill's turn came in February 1943, he and Mary Taylor were married.Estill became a flight instructor, but wanted to get into the fight. Estill's squadron was deployed to Europe in November 1944.
At the time he took off on his last mission, he had a one-month-old daughter he'd never had seen.
1st Lt Shannon E. Estill's remains were discovered by his daughter and a team of German researchers at a crash site near the town of Elsnig, Eastern Germany in 2006. His remains have been re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Additional biographical information can be found at https://myphantomfather.com/
Source of information: Dr. Sharon Estill Taylor (daughter), Peter Schouteten, Ben Savelkoul, www.newspaperarchive.com - Cedar Rapids Gazette
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Sharon Estill Taylor, www.findagrave.com - ShaneO, Arie-Jan van Hees, Pilot Class Book 43-K, Goodfellow Field, Texas / Pilot Class Book 43-I, Goodfellow Field, Texas