Lowell Glenn West
Military
Object Number - UPL 80064 - B-24 42-52193 'Star Dust' with 2Lt Lowell G. West.
Assigned to 737BS, 454BG, 15AF USAAF. Based at Cerignola, Italy. Aubrey Edwards crew. 16 x missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Graz, Austria in B-24 42-52225 'Moo Juice'. Hooked up with nose gunner 'Ernie' Nordwell and evaded capture with help from Yugoslavian partisans. Evaded capture (EVD)
"Flew as co-pilot of this final mission. When the word was given to abandon the plane, the pilot bailed out leaving dad responsible for the crew. To his death, dad struggled with having to leave one crewmember on the plane he was not absolutely certain was dead. The plane crashed just a few hundred yards beyond where dad landed. His words to me have been, "Maybe I should have gone down with the plane as well." - Son of Lowell West.
Awards: AM (5OLC), EAME, WWII Victory.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 737th Bomb Squadron 454th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 15097164 / O-735764
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 737th Bomb Squadron 454th Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 19059846
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Nose Turret Gunner
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Dongola, Illinois | 4 October 1920 | BornDongola, Illinois |
|
Enlisted |
East St Louis, Illinois | 18 September 1940 | EnlistedEast St Louis, Illinois |
|
Other Evaded Capture |
Yugoslavia | 19 March 1944 - 4 May 1944 | 46 days with Yugoslav Partisans |
|
Other Discharged |
28 September 1945 | ||
|
Died |
Cypress, Illinois | 30 July 2002 | DiedCypress, Illinois |
|
Buried |
Mount Olive Cemetery Dongola, Illinois, | 2 August 2002 | InterredMount Olive CemeteryDongola, Illinois, |
Revisions
https://www.fold3.com/record/41409633/lowell-g-west-us-social-security-death-index
https://www.fold3.com/record/714952212/west-lowell-g-us-veterans-gravesites-ca1775-2019
https://www.fold3.com/record/84366275/lowell-g-west-us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946
https://www.454bg.org/west-lowell-w7409-454bg.cfm
https://www.454bg.org/nordwell-ernest-n6382-454bg.cfm
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181166897/lowell-glenn-west
