Elmer S. Kirby Jr.
Rank: Corporal, U.S. Army Air Forces
Serial: 13174921
Unit: 407th Bomber Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Awards: Purple Heart
Buried: Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, E188–E189, Louisville, Kentucky
Biography
Corporal Elmer S. Kirby Jr. of Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Corporal Elmer S. Kirby Jr., of 300 Windsor Avenue in Haddonfield, New Jersey, was serving as a tail gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber when his plane went down on September 11, 1944, during a raid on the oil refineries at Merseburg, Germany. It was his first mission. He was 19 years old at the time he was listed missing.
Corporal Kirby had graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School, where he played on the school basketball team. He enlisted at age 17 and entered the service on September 13, 1943.
His four previously were buried in a U.S. military cemetery at Margraten, Holland, before being reburied together at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 15, 1949.
In addition to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer S. Kirby Sr., Corporal Kirby was survived by a sister.
Military Rites For Cpl. Kirby
Camden Courier-Post —
Final military rites have been held for Cpl. Elmer S. Kirby Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer S. Kirby Sr., of 300 Windsor avenue, Haddonfield, with reburial in Zachary Taylor National cemetery, Louisville, Ky.
Corporal Kirby, who was 19 at the time he was listed missing after a bombing mission over Germany, was reburied with three comrades. The four previously were buried in a U. S. military cemetery at Margraten, Holland.
Corporal Kirby, a tail gunner on a B-17, was shot down on his first mission over Germany Sept. 11, 1944. The following April, his parents saw a picture of 1200 men who escaped from a prison camp and believed they identified one of them as their son. However, further investigation failed to shed any additional information that he was still alive.
In addition to his parents, Corporal Kirby is survived by a sister. A graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High school, he played on the school basketball team and enlisted when 17. He entered the service Sept. 13, 1943.