A Co-Pilot, B-17 'Flying Fortress' 8th USAAF, 1st Division, 91st Bomb Group, 401st Squadron, Bassingbourn, England.
Upon completing his regular tour on duty, Bert Stiles transferred to fighter aircraft. 8th USAAF, 3rd Division, 339th Fighter Group, 505th Fighter Squadron, Fowlmere, England.
During his 16th mission of his second tour, flying a bomber escort mission to Hanover, Germany, Stiles entered a dogfight with a German Fighter. He shot down the Luftwaffe aircraft and received credit for one kill. Apparently, during the dive Stiles became affected by 'target fixation', failing to pull-out, he crashed his P-51 Mustang into the ground. Bert Stiles was killed on impact November 26, 1944.
Bert Stiles is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal and five clusters for his military service as a USAAF pilot. Interred at the American Ardennes Cemetery, Neupré, Liège, Belgium, Stiles is still among his comrades.
His family posthumously published his book 'Serenade to the Big Bird' in 1947. His biography ‘Serenade to the Blue Lady' by Robert Floyd Cooper
was published 1993.
Source: Find a Grave
PRIVATE CITIZENS SUPPORTING AMERICA'S HERITAGE
American
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War Memorials Overseas, Inc.
Stiles George Wilbert 'Bert'
Name:
George Wilbert 'Bert' Stiles
Rank:
First Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
505th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group
Date of Death:
1944-11-26
State:
Colorado
Cemetery:
Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial Neuville-en-Condroz, Liège, Belgium
Plot:
B
Row:
36
Grave:
43
Decoration:
Distinguished Flying Cross
Comments: