Michael Winbury Spiller was born on March 27, 1921, in Quanah, Hardeman County, Texas. He was the son of Pearl Winbury Spiller. He was the husband of Susan Katherine Earhart Wadsack Spiller. He pursued his education at Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College and the University of Texas before leaving to serve in World War II. During the war, he served as a B-17 navigator, flying 35 combat missions with the 100th Bomb Group (“Bloody Hundredth”) based at Thorpe Abbotts, England.

On July 14, 1944, Bastille Day, the United States Army Air Forces carried out Operation Cadillac, one of the largest Allied aerial resupply missions of World War II, delivering urgently needed weapons, ammunition, and supplies to the French Resistance. Hundreds of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, escorted by fighter aircraft, flew from England to drop thousands of containers over designated Resistance zones, including Moustoulat in Corrèze.

Mike participated in the mission, and in 1994, he returned to France with fellow members of the 100th Bomb Group at the invitation of the French Resistance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bastille Day operation that supplied Resistance forces near Tulle.

After World War II, he returned home and later retired in 1986 following a 30-year career in civil engineering with the Texas Highway Department. Strongly dedicated to community service, he served as Elder Emeritus at First Christian Church, was President of the Wichita Falls Kiwanis Club, volunteered with Interfaith Ministries, and spent many years as a board member and advocate for the North Texas Rehabilitation Center. In recognition of his lifelong service, he was honored on March 31, 2009, at the “Lunch with the Legends” event at Sheppard Air Force Base. He died on November 9, 2010, and is now buried in the Crestview Memorial Park, Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com, Source of information and photo: 100thbg.com