Cecil Roy Boles was born on August 13, 1922, in Garden Grove, Orange County, California. He was the son of Charles Edgar Boles Sr. and Lenora Rae Horner Boles. He served in the 760th Bomber Squadron, 460th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B-24 #42-51160 during World War II.

On June 30, 1944, the aircraft based at Spinazzola Airfield near Foggia, Italy, was shot down during a bombing mission to the South Synthetic Oil Refinery at Blechhammer, Germany. While flying near Lake Balaton, Hungary, the bomber formation encountered heavy enemy fighter opposition and poor weather conditions over the Balaton region, which forced the formation to alter its course and left it vulnerable to attack. During the engagement, the aircraft was hit by gunfire from a German Messerschmitt Me 410A of ZG 76/2. Hungarian fighter activity in the area was also reported during the battle. The Liberator crashed near Szigliget at approximately 10:50 AM. Five of the ten crew members were killed in the crash, while the remaining five successfully bailed out, were captured as prisoners of war, and were later released in 1945.

TSgt Boles was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, Département de la Moselle, Lorraine, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, airbase.blog.hu, www.15thaf.org, weremember.abmc.gov