Isbell Merlin Earl

Name:

Merlin Earl Isbell

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-810511

Unit:

514th Fighter Squadron, 406th Fighter Group

Date of Death:

1944-06-10

State:

Illinois

Cemetery:

Smithville Cemetery, Hanna City, Illinois

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

Merlin Earl Isbell was born in 1922 in Hanna City, Peoria County, Illinois. He was the son of Earl Isbell and Alice E. Swadinsky Isbell.

Merlin served in the 514th Fighter Squadron, 406th Fighter Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot of the P-47 D-5-RE #42-8409 O7*Q "Skirty Bert" during World War II. on June 10, 1944, he took off from Station 417 airfield in Ashford, England, on an armed reconnaissance mission to Avranches/St. Lō, France. He was shot down by enemy fighter Me109 and having received shrapnel in the throat, he managed to evacuate by parachute but at a very low altitude at 10:10. His plane crashed at Cne d'Occagnes - 6 km NO Argentan. His parachute partly opened, but he survived the fall. He was treated by the Germans, but his carotid artery was hit, so he died the following night.

Originally buried in the Chāteau de Cuy town cemetery, 2Lt Isbell remains were later transferred. He is now buried in the Smithville Cemetery, Hanna City, Peoria County, Illinois, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net