George J. Kyle was born on August 17, 1913, in Cook County, Illinois. He was the son of Gordon Kyle and Lillian May Kyle. Before enlistment, he was employed by the Quaker Oats Company in Chicago and had attended the Eastern High School of Commerce in Toronto, Canada. He entered the U.S. Army Air Forces on June 11, 1942, and completed training in radio operator-mechanics at the Army Air Forces Technical School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He served in the 584th Bomber Squadron, 394th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and crew aboard the B-26 Marauder #42-107592 “Stinky”, based at Station No. 161, Boreham Airfield, Essex, England, during World War II.

On the morning of June 6, 1944, D-Day, B-26 Marauder 42-107592 “Stinky” was flying in formation toward its target over Normandy when it encountered heavy cloud cover and severe weather over Battle, Sussex, England. Visibility was extremely poor, with icing and turbulent cloud conditions. As the aircraft flew on instruments through dense overcast, it inadvertently collided with another Marauder, 42-96249 of the 587th Squadron, which had descended unexpectedly out of a thick cloud bank. The impact did not register as a strong jolt, according to the only survivor, Lt. Tommie Potts, but his aircraft soon entered an uncontrolled spin, eventually flipping onto its back. Potts ordered the bombs jettisoned to avoid ground explosions and then bailed out, becoming the sole survivor of both crews. B-26 “Stinky” crashed at Whatlington Level, while the other aircraft crashed at Ashburnham Place. The crews’ quick decision to release their bomb loads prevented further devastation on the ground.

TSgt Kyle is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, gillinghambattleb26crash.weebly.com