Wesley Marion Tibbetts, known by the nickname "Wes," was born in Homer, Illinois, on October 26, 1916. He attended the University of Illinois from 1937 to 1938. He joined the Army Air Corps at Chanute Field on September 26, 1941, as an aviation cadet. Following his flight training, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant.

He was assigned to the 338th Fighter Group of the 55th Fighter Squadron, flying P-43 type aircraft. He deployed to England with the unit, arriving at Nuthampstead Air Station 131 in October 1943. The unit transitioned into P-38 aircraft and commenced flying bomber escort mission in late October 1943. Lt. Tibbetts was promoted to Captain on January 1, 1944.

He was flying his 51st mission aboard P-38J #42-67752, escorting B-24 bombers carrying non-defusable bombs. These were experimental bombs, armed when dropped and set to explode after an interval of time or if an attempt was made to defuse them. Captain Tibbetts disappeared on this flight.

His wingman later stated that he could not remember that they were engaged by enemy aircraft or experienced flak. Luftwaffe records, however, tell a different story. It is stated that the P-38 was shot down by Stabsfeldwebel (Sergeant Major) Krausse of 4/JG 11 on this date.

In a letter to Tibbetts' aunt in 1949, a German priest named Herber Kosak told that he watched an American aircraft get cut-off by a German fighter. In the chase that followed, he said the P-38 lost its tail rudder, a propeller, and then crashed on a farm near Sondra. Munitions on the aircraft exploded, and the aircraft took two days to completely burn. The son of the local Mayor retrieved the pilot's body, placed it in a homemade coffin, and buried it in Sattlstadat. In 1947, the coffin was moved to Ruhl and buried in Trinity Churchyard. One month later, it was moved to an American cemetery in Belgium.

It was later returned to the U.S. where Captain Tibbetts now lies in the GAR Cemetery in Homer, Illinois.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, airforce.togetherweserved.com