Hugh Egbert Gillette was born on October 14, 1921, in Idaho. He served in the 38th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Fighter Pilot. He was Killed in Action on October 18, 1943, while piloting the P-38H 42-66719 on an operation to escort bombers headed for Duren, Germany. Weather prevented rendezvous of fighters with the bomber formations, and both the fighter and the bombers were recalled. He radioed his Flight Leader that he was turning back. It is believed that the aircraft sustained some sort of mechanical failure, and he reported that he was abandoning it over the sea 50 miles east of Clacton, UK. Air-Sea-Rescue arrived at the location within eight minutes, but neither he nor the aircraft was ever found.

2Lt Gillette is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.abmc.gov