See forum.armyairforces.com
Quoting from the yet-to-be-published "Mission to Merkwiller and the Last Flight of Miss Liberty Belle" by Ian White, Chapter 57.
"...the story of Lt Neil L. Curtiss and crew of the 92nd Bomb Group. Curtiss and his men had been shot down during their exit from the target area, some twenty minutes after bombs away at Merkwiller... Neil L. Curtiss was born in the Town of Kent, Ohio, June 10th 1922. He had enlisted into the Aviation Cadet Programme July 7th 1942, serving his initial pilot training at Foster Field, Texas. As Curtiss progressed through the programme, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant during advanced training at the Army Air Force Field, Dalhart, Texas, he would pick up the remaining members of what eventually would become his first combat crew. From documents issued via the War Department, Neil finally qualified as a bomber Pilot on November 3rd 1943. Not long after this date, he and his crew would ship out for England and the European Theatre of Operations (ETO); to begin flying heavy bomber missions with the 92nd Bomb Group at Podington. At the time of his death and at the still relatively young age of just twenty-two, Curtiss had completed almost his full tour of what were then thirty-five missions. August the 3rd 1944 was to have been his last, after which he would be returning home to his family in Ohio. By the 21st of August 1944, Lt. Neil Curtiss was officially listed as 'Missing in Action' by the War Department. Telegrams were sent to the family in Ohio, with little other information... Once more, the intelligence available to those investigating the unknown 'X-36' remains, as of December 1944, pointed to only one crewman still considered 'Missing in Action' and that was Neil Curtiss the Pilot of that known crash site at Brulange.
With such compelling evidence, the 609th staff began to amend all the records, that up till that point had been referred to simply as 'X-36', to now read their true identity; that of 1st. Lt. Neil L. Curtiss USAAF 0-695157. Not long after that, the sad news of finally locating Lt. Curtiss was forwarded to his parents Della and Carl H. Curtiss in Kent, Ohio. I can only guess at the distress in having waited so long, hoping perhaps that Neil was alive and either a Prisoner of War, in a hospital perhaps and too badly injured to communicate, or may be hiding out and somehow still evading capture. For the Curtiss family this final news was indeed shattering, because they had already lost another Son; Neil's Brother Carl R. Curtiss. Carl had been serving in the regular US Army as a Private First Class, fighting in the Italian theatre at Cassino (Author – Earlier correspondence from survivor Earl Haun seemed to indicate that the Brother of Neil Curtiss had been fighting on the landing grounds at Anzio). He was buried temporarily in Italy at the US military cemetery 'R. Fratelle', close to where he was killed. It would take the end of the war in Europe before the family could plan to bring both their boys home. What now followed was the lengthy process of arranging for both Sons to be disinterred, to eventually be buried alongside one another at the family cemetery in Kent, Ohio. There were other complications in that Carl H. Curtiss had been married, and his widow had eventually remarried in 1947-48. Her agreement in having the body returned to the United States had to be sort, which meant further delays in the disinterment process. The remaining pages of the IDPF cover this, in some detail in fact. The US Authorities went all out to make sure both deceased men were transported, at first separately then together, so as to arrive with their family side by side once again. Carl R. and Neil L. Curtiss were finally laid to rest during a private family service with no military presence, at the Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent Ohio, on January 6th 1949... It was finally the end of my search on this particular episode of the Merkwiller story. I had to agree with my gut feelings that Curtiss had not succeeded in bailing out of his plane before it exploded. Indeed it was very unlikely that he was still alive once on the ground, and had therefore not been attacked or murdered by person's unknown at the crash site as perhaps first alleged by some of his own crew. Furthermore the rest of his crewmen had been given the chance of survival, by their Pilot, and it was that act of duty and self sacrifice that had sadly cost him his own life."
_______________________________________________________________
1941 Feb 4 The Kent Stater
"Cuff notes:...Mary Ellen Burkhardt and Neil Curtiss are still carrying on their high school romance..." [Mary Ellen's mother and 2 siblings are buried in Standing Rock Cemetery. Mary Ellen Burkhardt Spaetti served in the Coast Guard, where she met her husband Harold Spaetti, and is buried in Red Bush, Indiana, Find A Grave Memorial# 113667019]
1941 Oct 22 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Gamma. Don Sinn was elected president of the pledge group, with Ray Gallagher, vice president; Neil Curtiss, secretary, and Milt Baer, treasurer."
1942 Jan 7 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Delta.... Eleven pledges who are going through the customary educational week are Kenny Rickard, John Bash, Don Sinn, Milt Baer, Roy Berger, Milan Grnach, Ralph Church, Chick Ready, Ray Gallagher, Bud Gerber, and Neil Curtiss."
1942 Feb 27 The Kent Stater
"Positions Open for Ten in Primary Flying Course
A new group of 10 students will be accepted for elementary flying instructions here, Adrian Van Wyen, director of civil aeronautics, announced yesterday... The existing elementary, or primary, group is composed of Neil Curtiss, Robert Jones, Robert Ketchingman, Marris Marini, William Mock, Frank O'Brien, Edward Schulke, Eugene Sirak, Robert Stewart, and Floyd Thomas."
1942 Jul 7 military enlistment Cleveland, Ohio
Neil L. Curtiss
b. 1922 Ohio
2 years college
actors and actresses
single, without dependents
private, Air Corps
1944 Aug 3 plane shot down over Northeast France.
1944 Oct 17 Kent Stater
"Report Flyer In Germany
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss, University student from 1940-1942, reported missing in action on Aug. 3 when his plane went down over Germany, is now believed safe by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. Harold Curtiss of Kent. A former crew member of Lieutenant Curtiss's Flying Fortress, who witnessed the action, has notified the fliers' parents he saw the Lieutenant parachute to safety outside Berlin on August 3. Lieutenant Curtiss, 22, formerly enrolled in the college of business administration, was last seen by his parents on Easter Sunday. The flier reporting the news had been a tail-gunner on Lieutenant Curtiss's plane at one time. He was aboard a companion ship on the August 3 mission and seemed confident that the Kent flier is safe. Although he was unable to reach Lieutenant Curtiss's parents when he passed through Kent on a train Wednesday, the gunner relayed this information by Blake C. Cook, judge of the common pleas court in Ravenna."
1944 about December, parents notified of identification of remains
1945 Jan 12 The Kent Stater
"Heroes All, Our Gold Star Fighting Men
LT. NEIL CURTISS. Missing in action over France, Prisoner of War."
1944 Jan 18 [sic. Date w signature of father. Must be 1945] US Military Headstone Application
Curtiss, Neil L
b. 6-10-1922
d. 8-3-1944
enlistment June 1942
serial no. 0-695157
Ohio, 1 Lt, U S Air Corps, 92nd Bomb Gp, USAAF 8 Air Force
cemetery Standing Rock, Kent, OH
Bissler & Sons Inc,
265 Main St Kent
applicant C. Harold Curtiss, 1-18-1944, 321 N. Mantua St. Kent
verification Jan. 27, 1949. Green Mountain, VT 1 Mar 1949
1944 Aug 21 listed as Missing in Action
1945 March 9 Daily Kent Stater
"Three Former Students Dead, Two Wounded, One Prisoner
Two former students were listed as killed, two others reported missing, and one serviceman believed a prisoner was said to be officially dead according to latest advice reaching Agnes Young, secretary to the dean of men... Previously listed as missing over France and then said to be a prisoner of war, Lt. Neil Curtiss, air corps, has been announced dead by the War department."
1945 May 8, Daily Kent Stater, Vol. XX No. 58
Honor Roll - Killed
Pfc. Carl R. Curtiss, In Italy - January 12, 1944
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss (air corps), Over France - August. 3, 1944
1949 Jan 6 burial service at Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent, Ohio
Quoting from the yet-to-be-published "Mission to Merkwiller and the Last Flight of Miss Liberty Belle" by Ian White, Chapter 57.
"...the story of Lt Neil L. Curtiss and crew of the 92nd Bomb Group. Curtiss and his men had been shot down during their exit from the target area, some twenty minutes after bombs away at Merkwiller... Neil L. Curtiss was born in the Town of Kent, Ohio, June 10th 1922. He had enlisted into the Aviation Cadet Programme July 7th 1942, serving his initial pilot training at Foster Field, Texas. As Curtiss progressed through the programme, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant during advanced training at the Army Air Force Field, Dalhart, Texas, he would pick up the remaining members of what eventually would become his first combat crew. From documents issued via the War Department, Neil finally qualified as a bomber Pilot on November 3rd 1943. Not long after this date, he and his crew would ship out for England and the European Theatre of Operations (ETO); to begin flying heavy bomber missions with the 92nd Bomb Group at Podington. At the time of his death and at the still relatively young age of just twenty-two, Curtiss had completed almost his full tour of what were then thirty-five missions. August the 3rd 1944 was to have been his last, after which he would be returning home to his family in Ohio. By the 21st of August 1944, Lt. Neil Curtiss was officially listed as 'Missing in Action' by the War Department. Telegrams were sent to the family in Ohio, with little other information... Once more, the intelligence available to those investigating the unknown 'X-36' remains, as of December 1944, pointed to only one crewman still considered 'Missing in Action' and that was Neil Curtiss the Pilot of that known crash site at Brulange.
With such compelling evidence, the 609th staff began to amend all the records, that up till that point had been referred to simply as 'X-36', to now read their true identity; that of 1st. Lt. Neil L. Curtiss USAAF 0-695157. Not long after that, the sad news of finally locating Lt. Curtiss was forwarded to his parents Della and Carl H. Curtiss in Kent, Ohio. I can only guess at the distress in having waited so long, hoping perhaps that Neil was alive and either a Prisoner of War, in a hospital perhaps and too badly injured to communicate, or may be hiding out and somehow still evading capture. For the Curtiss family this final news was indeed shattering, because they had already lost another Son; Neil's Brother Carl R. Curtiss. Carl had been serving in the regular US Army as a Private First Class, fighting in the Italian theatre at Cassino (Author – Earlier correspondence from survivor Earl Haun seemed to indicate that the Brother of Neil Curtiss had been fighting on the landing grounds at Anzio). He was buried temporarily in Italy at the US military cemetery 'R. Fratelle', close to where he was killed. It would take the end of the war in Europe before the family could plan to bring both their boys home. What now followed was the lengthy process of arranging for both Sons to be disinterred, to eventually be buried alongside one another at the family cemetery in Kent, Ohio. There were other complications in that Carl H. Curtiss had been married, and his widow had eventually remarried in 1947-48. Her agreement in having the body returned to the United States had to be sort, which meant further delays in the disinterment process. The remaining pages of the IDPF cover this, in some detail in fact. The US Authorities went all out to make sure both deceased men were transported, at first separately then together, so as to arrive with their family side by side once again. Carl R. and Neil L. Curtiss were finally laid to rest during a private family service with no military presence, at the Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent Ohio, on January 6th 1949... It was finally the end of my search on this particular episode of the Merkwiller story. I had to agree with my gut feelings that Curtiss had not succeeded in bailing out of his plane before it exploded. Indeed it was very unlikely that he was still alive once on the ground, and had therefore not been attacked or murdered by person's unknown at the crash site as perhaps first alleged by some of his own crew. Furthermore the rest of his crewmen had been given the chance of survival, by their Pilot, and it was that act of duty and self sacrifice that had sadly cost him his own life."
_______________________________________________________________
1941 Feb 4 The Kent Stater
"Cuff notes:...Mary Ellen Burkhardt and Neil Curtiss are still carrying on their high school romance..." [Mary Ellen's mother and 2 siblings are buried in Standing Rock Cemetery. Mary Ellen Burkhardt Spaetti served in the Coast Guard, where she met her husband Harold Spaetti, and is buried in Red Bush, Indiana, Find A Grave Memorial# 113667019]
1941 Oct 22 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Gamma. Don Sinn was elected president of the pledge group, with Ray Gallagher, vice president; Neil Curtiss, secretary, and Milt Baer, treasurer."
1942 Jan 7 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Delta.... Eleven pledges who are going through the customary educational week are Kenny Rickard, John Bash, Don Sinn, Milt Baer, Roy Berger, Milan Grnach, Ralph Church, Chick Ready, Ray Gallagher, Bud Gerber, and Neil Curtiss."
1942 Feb 27 The Kent Stater
"Positions Open for Ten in Primary Flying Course
A new group of 10 students will be accepted for elementary flying instructions here, Adrian Van Wyen, director of civil aeronautics, announced yesterday... The existing elementary, or primary, group is composed of Neil Curtiss, Robert Jones, Robert Ketchingman, Marris Marini, William Mock, Frank O'Brien, Edward Schulke, Eugene Sirak, Robert Stewart, and Floyd Thomas."
1942 Jul 7 military enlistment Cleveland, Ohio
Neil L. Curtiss
b. 1922 Ohio
2 years college
actors and actresses
single, without dependents
private, Air Corps
1944 Aug 3 plane shot down over Northeast France.
1944 Oct 17 Kent Stater
"Report Flyer In Germany
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss, University student from 1940-1942, reported missing in action on Aug. 3 when his plane went down over Germany, is now believed safe by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. Harold Curtiss of Kent. A former crew member of Lieutenant Curtiss's Flying Fortress, who witnessed the action, has notified the fliers' parents he saw the Lieutenant parachute to safety outside Berlin on August 3. Lieutenant Curtiss, 22, formerly enrolled in the college of business administration, was last seen by his parents on Easter Sunday. The flier reporting the news had been a tail-gunner on Lieutenant Curtiss's plane at one time. He was aboard a companion ship on the August 3 mission and seemed confident that the Kent flier is safe. Although he was unable to reach Lieutenant Curtiss's parents when he passed through Kent on a train Wednesday, the gunner relayed this information by Blake C. Cook, judge of the common pleas court in Ravenna."
1944 about December, parents notified of identification of remains
1945 Jan 12 The Kent Stater
"Heroes All, Our Gold Star Fighting Men
LT. NEIL CURTISS. Missing in action over France, Prisoner of War."
1944 Jan 18 [sic. Date w signature of father. Must be 1945] US Military Headstone Application
Curtiss, Neil L
b. 6-10-1922
d. 8-3-1944
enlistment June 1942
serial no. 0-695157
Ohio, 1 Lt, U S Air Corps, 92nd Bomb Gp, USAAF 8 Air Force
cemetery Standing Rock, Kent, OH
Bissler & Sons Inc,
265 Main St Kent
applicant C. Harold Curtiss, 1-18-1944, 321 N. Mantua St. Kent
verification Jan. 27, 1949. Green Mountain, VT 1 Mar 1949
1944 Aug 21 listed as Missing in Action
1945 March 9 Daily Kent Stater
"Three Former Students Dead, Two Wounded, One Prisoner
Two former students were listed as killed, two others reported missing, and one serviceman believed a prisoner was said to be officially dead according to latest advice reaching Agnes Young, secretary to the dean of men... Previously listed as missing over France and then said to be a prisoner of war, Lt. Neil Curtiss, air corps, has been announced dead by the War department."
1945 May 8, Daily Kent Stater, Vol. XX No. 58
Honor Roll - Killed
Pfc. Carl R. Curtiss, In Italy - January 12, 1944
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss (air corps), Over France - August. 3, 1944
1949 Jan 6 burial service at Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent, Ohio
See forum.armyairforces.com
Quoting from the yet-to-be-published "Mission to Merkwiller and the Last Flight of Miss Liberty Belle" by Ian White, Chapter 57.
"...the story of Lt Neil L. Curtiss and crew of the 92nd Bomb Group. Curtiss and his men had been shot down during their exit from the target area, some twenty minutes after bombs away at Merkwiller... Neil L. Curtiss was born in the Town of Kent, Ohio, June 10th 1922. He had enlisted into the Aviation Cadet Programme July 7th 1942, serving his initial pilot training at Foster Field, Texas. As Curtiss progressed through the programme, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant during advanced training at the Army Air Force Field, Dalhart, Texas, he would pick up the remaining members of what eventually would become his first combat crew. From documents issued via the War Department, Neil finally qualified as a bomber Pilot on November 3rd 1943. Not long after this date, he and his crew would ship out for England and the European Theatre of Operations (ETO); to begin flying heavy bomber missions with the 92nd Bomb Group at Podington. At the time of his death and at the still relatively young age of just twenty-two, Curtiss had completed almost his full tour of what were then thirty-five missions. August the 3rd 1944 was to have been his last, after which he would be returning home to his family in Ohio. By the 21st of August 1944, Lt. Neil Curtiss was officially listed as 'Missing in Action' by the War Department. Telegrams were sent to the family in Ohio, with little other information... Once more, the intelligence available to those investigating the unknown 'X-36' remains, as of December 1944, pointed to only one crewman still considered 'Missing in Action' and that was Neil Curtiss the Pilot of that known crash site at Brulange.
With such compelling evidence, the 609th staff began to amend all the records, that up till that point had been referred to simply as 'X-36', to now read their true identity; that of 1st. Lt. Neil L. Curtiss USAAF 0-695157. Not long after that, the sad news of finally locating Lt. Curtiss was forwarded to his parents Della and Carl H. Curtiss in Kent, Ohio. I can only guess at the distress in having waited so long, hoping perhaps that Neil was alive and either a Prisoner of War, in a hospital perhaps and too badly injured to communicate, or may be hiding out and somehow still evading capture. For the Curtiss family this final news was indeed shattering, because they had already lost another Son; Neil's Brother Carl R. Curtiss. Carl had been serving in the regular US Army as a Private First Class, fighting in the Italian theatre at Cassino (Author – Earlier correspondence from survivor Earl Haun seemed to indicate that the Brother of Neil Curtiss had been fighting on the landing grounds at Anzio). He was buried temporarily in Italy at the US military cemetery 'R. Fratelle', close to where he was killed. It would take the end of the war in Europe before the family could plan to bring both their boys home. What now followed was the lengthy process of arranging for both Sons to be disinterred, to eventually be buried alongside one another at the family cemetery in Kent, Ohio. There were other complications in that Carl H. Curtiss had been married, and his widow had eventually remarried in 1947-48. Her agreement in having the body returned to the United States had to be sort, which meant further delays in the disinterment process. The remaining pages of the IDPF cover this, in some detail in fact. The US Authorities went all out to make sure both deceased men were transported, at first separately then together, so as to arrive with their family side by side once again. Carl R. and Neil L. Curtiss were finally laid to rest during a private family service with no military presence, at the Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent Ohio, on January 6th 1949... It was finally the end of my search on this particular episode of the Merkwiller story. I had to agree with my gut feelings that Curtiss had not succeeded in bailing out of his plane before it exploded. Indeed it was very unlikely that he was still alive once on the ground, and had therefore not been attacked or murdered by person's unknown at the crash site as perhaps first alleged by some of his own crew. Furthermore the rest of his crewmen had been given the chance of survival, by their Pilot, and it was that act of duty and self sacrifice that had sadly cost him his own life."
_______________________________________________________________
1941 Feb 4 The Kent Stater
"Cuff notes:...Mary Ellen Burkhardt and Neil Curtiss are still carrying on their high school romance..." [Mary Ellen's mother and 2 siblings are buried in Standing Rock Cemetery. Mary Ellen Burkhardt Spaetti served in the Coast Guard, where she met her husband Harold Spaetti, and is buried in Red Bush, Indiana, Find A Grave Memorial# 113667019]
1941 Oct 22 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Gamma. Don Sinn was elected president of the pledge group, with Ray Gallagher, vice president; Neil Curtiss, secretary, and Milt Baer, treasurer."
1942 Jan 7 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Delta.... Eleven pledges who are going through the customary educational week are Kenny Rickard, John Bash, Don Sinn, Milt Baer, Roy Berger, Milan Grnach, Ralph Church, Chick Ready, Ray Gallagher, Bud Gerber, and Neil Curtiss."
1942 Feb 27 The Kent Stater
"Positions Open for Ten in Primary Flying Course
A new group of 10 students will be accepted for elementary flying instructions here, Adrian Van Wyen, director of civil aeronautics, announced yesterday... The existing elementary, or primary, group is composed of Neil Curtiss, Robert Jones, Robert Ketchingman, Marris Marini, William Mock, Frank O'Brien, Edward Schulke, Eugene Sirak, Robert Stewart, and Floyd Thomas."
1942 Jul 7 military enlistment Cleveland, Ohio
Neil L. Curtiss
b. 1922 Ohio
2 years college
actors and actresses
single, without dependents
private, Air Corps
1944 Aug 3 plane shot down over Northeast France.
1944 Oct 17 Kent Stater
"Report Flyer In Germany
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss, University student from 1940-1942, reported missing in action on Aug. 3 when his plane went down over Germany, is now believed safe by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. Harold Curtiss of Kent. A former crew member of Lieutenant Curtiss's Flying Fortress, who witnessed the action, has notified the fliers' parents he saw the Lieutenant parachute to safety outside Berlin on August 3. Lieutenant Curtiss, 22, formerly enrolled in the college of business administration, was last seen by his parents on Easter Sunday. The flier reporting the news had been a tail-gunner on Lieutenant Curtiss's plane at one time. He was aboard a companion ship on the August 3 mission and seemed confident that the Kent flier is safe. Although he was unable to reach Lieutenant Curtiss's parents when he passed through Kent on a train Wednesday, the gunner relayed this information by Blake C. Cook, judge of the common pleas court in Ravenna."
1944 about December, parents notified of identification of remains
1945 Jan 12 The Kent Stater
"Heroes All, Our Gold Star Fighting Men
LT. NEIL CURTISS. Missing in action over France, Prisoner of War."
1944 Jan 18 [sic. Date w signature of father. Must be 1945] US Military Headstone Application
Curtiss, Neil L
b. 6-10-1922
d. 8-3-1944
enlistment June 1942
serial no. 0-695157
Ohio, 1 Lt, U S Air Corps, 92nd Bomb Gp, USAAF 8 Air Force
cemetery Standing Rock, Kent, OH
Bissler & Sons Inc,
265 Main St Kent
applicant C. Harold Curtiss, 1-18-1944, 321 N. Mantua St. Kent
verification Jan. 27, 1949. Green Mountain, VT 1 Mar 1949
1944 Aug 21 listed as Missing in Action
1945 March 9 Daily Kent Stater
"Three Former Students Dead, Two Wounded, One Prisoner
Two former students were listed as killed, two others reported missing, and one serviceman believed a prisoner was said to be officially dead according to latest advice reaching Agnes Young, secretary to the dean of men... Previously listed as missing over France and then said to be a prisoner of war, Lt. Neil Curtiss, air corps, has been announced dead by the War department."
1945 May 8, Daily Kent Stater, Vol. XX No. 58
Honor Roll - Killed
Pfc. Carl R. Curtiss, In Italy - January 12, 1944
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss (air corps), Over France - August. 3, 1944
1949 Jan 6 burial service at Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent, Ohio
Quoting from the yet-to-be-published "Mission to Merkwiller and the Last Flight of Miss Liberty Belle" by Ian White, Chapter 57.
"...the story of Lt Neil L. Curtiss and crew of the 92nd Bomb Group. Curtiss and his men had been shot down during their exit from the target area, some twenty minutes after bombs away at Merkwiller... Neil L. Curtiss was born in the Town of Kent, Ohio, June 10th 1922. He had enlisted into the Aviation Cadet Programme July 7th 1942, serving his initial pilot training at Foster Field, Texas. As Curtiss progressed through the programme, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant during advanced training at the Army Air Force Field, Dalhart, Texas, he would pick up the remaining members of what eventually would become his first combat crew. From documents issued via the War Department, Neil finally qualified as a bomber Pilot on November 3rd 1943. Not long after this date, he and his crew would ship out for England and the European Theatre of Operations (ETO); to begin flying heavy bomber missions with the 92nd Bomb Group at Podington. At the time of his death and at the still relatively young age of just twenty-two, Curtiss had completed almost his full tour of what were then thirty-five missions. August the 3rd 1944 was to have been his last, after which he would be returning home to his family in Ohio. By the 21st of August 1944, Lt. Neil Curtiss was officially listed as 'Missing in Action' by the War Department. Telegrams were sent to the family in Ohio, with little other information... Once more, the intelligence available to those investigating the unknown 'X-36' remains, as of December 1944, pointed to only one crewman still considered 'Missing in Action' and that was Neil Curtiss the Pilot of that known crash site at Brulange.
With such compelling evidence, the 609th staff began to amend all the records, that up till that point had been referred to simply as 'X-36', to now read their true identity; that of 1st. Lt. Neil L. Curtiss USAAF 0-695157. Not long after that, the sad news of finally locating Lt. Curtiss was forwarded to his parents Della and Carl H. Curtiss in Kent, Ohio. I can only guess at the distress in having waited so long, hoping perhaps that Neil was alive and either a Prisoner of War, in a hospital perhaps and too badly injured to communicate, or may be hiding out and somehow still evading capture. For the Curtiss family this final news was indeed shattering, because they had already lost another Son; Neil's Brother Carl R. Curtiss. Carl had been serving in the regular US Army as a Private First Class, fighting in the Italian theatre at Cassino (Author – Earlier correspondence from survivor Earl Haun seemed to indicate that the Brother of Neil Curtiss had been fighting on the landing grounds at Anzio). He was buried temporarily in Italy at the US military cemetery 'R. Fratelle', close to where he was killed. It would take the end of the war in Europe before the family could plan to bring both their boys home. What now followed was the lengthy process of arranging for both Sons to be disinterred, to eventually be buried alongside one another at the family cemetery in Kent, Ohio. There were other complications in that Carl H. Curtiss had been married, and his widow had eventually remarried in 1947-48. Her agreement in having the body returned to the United States had to be sort, which meant further delays in the disinterment process. The remaining pages of the IDPF cover this, in some detail in fact. The US Authorities went all out to make sure both deceased men were transported, at first separately then together, so as to arrive with their family side by side once again. Carl R. and Neil L. Curtiss were finally laid to rest during a private family service with no military presence, at the Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent Ohio, on January 6th 1949... It was finally the end of my search on this particular episode of the Merkwiller story. I had to agree with my gut feelings that Curtiss had not succeeded in bailing out of his plane before it exploded. Indeed it was very unlikely that he was still alive once on the ground, and had therefore not been attacked or murdered by person's unknown at the crash site as perhaps first alleged by some of his own crew. Furthermore the rest of his crewmen had been given the chance of survival, by their Pilot, and it was that act of duty and self sacrifice that had sadly cost him his own life."
_______________________________________________________________
1941 Feb 4 The Kent Stater
"Cuff notes:...Mary Ellen Burkhardt and Neil Curtiss are still carrying on their high school romance..." [Mary Ellen's mother and 2 siblings are buried in Standing Rock Cemetery. Mary Ellen Burkhardt Spaetti served in the Coast Guard, where she met her husband Harold Spaetti, and is buried in Red Bush, Indiana, Find A Grave Memorial# 113667019]
1941 Oct 22 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Gamma. Don Sinn was elected president of the pledge group, with Ray Gallagher, vice president; Neil Curtiss, secretary, and Milt Baer, treasurer."
1942 Jan 7 The Kent Stater
"Sigma Tau Delta.... Eleven pledges who are going through the customary educational week are Kenny Rickard, John Bash, Don Sinn, Milt Baer, Roy Berger, Milan Grnach, Ralph Church, Chick Ready, Ray Gallagher, Bud Gerber, and Neil Curtiss."
1942 Feb 27 The Kent Stater
"Positions Open for Ten in Primary Flying Course
A new group of 10 students will be accepted for elementary flying instructions here, Adrian Van Wyen, director of civil aeronautics, announced yesterday... The existing elementary, or primary, group is composed of Neil Curtiss, Robert Jones, Robert Ketchingman, Marris Marini, William Mock, Frank O'Brien, Edward Schulke, Eugene Sirak, Robert Stewart, and Floyd Thomas."
1942 Jul 7 military enlistment Cleveland, Ohio
Neil L. Curtiss
b. 1922 Ohio
2 years college
actors and actresses
single, without dependents
private, Air Corps
1944 Aug 3 plane shot down over Northeast France.
1944 Oct 17 Kent Stater
"Report Flyer In Germany
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss, University student from 1940-1942, reported missing in action on Aug. 3 when his plane went down over Germany, is now believed safe by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. Harold Curtiss of Kent. A former crew member of Lieutenant Curtiss's Flying Fortress, who witnessed the action, has notified the fliers' parents he saw the Lieutenant parachute to safety outside Berlin on August 3. Lieutenant Curtiss, 22, formerly enrolled in the college of business administration, was last seen by his parents on Easter Sunday. The flier reporting the news had been a tail-gunner on Lieutenant Curtiss's plane at one time. He was aboard a companion ship on the August 3 mission and seemed confident that the Kent flier is safe. Although he was unable to reach Lieutenant Curtiss's parents when he passed through Kent on a train Wednesday, the gunner relayed this information by Blake C. Cook, judge of the common pleas court in Ravenna."
1944 about December, parents notified of identification of remains
1945 Jan 12 The Kent Stater
"Heroes All, Our Gold Star Fighting Men
LT. NEIL CURTISS. Missing in action over France, Prisoner of War."
1944 Jan 18 [sic. Date w signature of father. Must be 1945] US Military Headstone Application
Curtiss, Neil L
b. 6-10-1922
d. 8-3-1944
enlistment June 1942
serial no. 0-695157
Ohio, 1 Lt, U S Air Corps, 92nd Bomb Gp, USAAF 8 Air Force
cemetery Standing Rock, Kent, OH
Bissler & Sons Inc,
265 Main St Kent
applicant C. Harold Curtiss, 1-18-1944, 321 N. Mantua St. Kent
verification Jan. 27, 1949. Green Mountain, VT 1 Mar 1949
1944 Aug 21 listed as Missing in Action
1945 March 9 Daily Kent Stater
"Three Former Students Dead, Two Wounded, One Prisoner
Two former students were listed as killed, two others reported missing, and one serviceman believed a prisoner was said to be officially dead according to latest advice reaching Agnes Young, secretary to the dean of men... Previously listed as missing over France and then said to be a prisoner of war, Lt. Neil Curtiss, air corps, has been announced dead by the War department."
1945 May 8, Daily Kent Stater, Vol. XX No. 58
Honor Roll - Killed
Pfc. Carl R. Curtiss, In Italy - January 12, 1944
Lieut. Neil L. Curtiss (air corps), Over France - August. 3, 1944
1949 Jan 6 burial service at Standing Rock Cemetery, Kent, Ohio
Inscription
1 LT
AAF BOMB GP
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