Merlin lost his life when his plane was shot down in Normandy, France during WWII. The village where he died have named a street after him and have plaque remembering him. He was 22.
He's A Hero In France.
Fifty years ago, Hanna City native Merlin Isbell died after his P-47 fighter crashed. Now, a half-century later, a tiny hamlet in France regards him as a hero. Phil Luciano tells why:
June 10, 1944, a day of hecatomb for the American Fighters in Normandy. That day, is for the USAAF, the darkest day of the whole battle of Normandy, with nearly fifty wrecks, debris of all kind strewing the soil of Normandy. Many pilots loses their lives that day. Besides this sad bookkeeping each of the missing pilots has his own history, even if officially, he will only be a KIA, Killed In Action. His way of dying doesn't affect the outcome of the war. A plane has been hit, falls, and turns into a shapelss scrap heap. At the same time, destiny has sealed the fate of the pilot, death in a plane crash or life at the end of a piece of silk. One of the fifty pilots who crashed on this June 10, 1944, delayed the immutable course of these two possibilities. And yet, Lieutenant Merlin Earl Isbell, a P-47 pilot within the 406th fighter-group, 514th Squadron still left this world that day. Merlin Isbell, 20 in 1943, a native of Hannah City, a small township near Peoria, Illinois, makes the same decision as many young Americans. He joins the military and volunteers to serve in the Air Force. A little later, his twin brothers, Roy and Ray, will enlist in the Navy, at 17! Merlin Isbell, upon completion of his training at the Junior Officers School, is assigned to the 406th Fighter group at the Congaree Army Air Force base, in South Carolina and after some intensive training, he is commissioned and receives his wings in August 1943. In March, 1944, the 406th is stationed in Camp Shanks, near New York, a transit station to Europ for the troops, then on March 22nd, the whole group boards a coverted troops ship, the HMT Sterling Castle, sailing to England. Based in Ashford, south-east England it's from there that all the missions toward the occupied territory are going to be launched. The first mission of Merlin Isbell and his mates is carried out without incidents but not without excitement as of May 9, 1944 and then like elsewhere, the routine sets in. There is a succession without attraction of escort missions. Quite often, Merlin uses the plane assigned to another pilot of his Flight, Robert Knapp, who christened his P-47 "Me Too". Why "Me Too"? If you'd know, Me Too! This June 10, 1944, Merlin Isbell isn't flying "Me Too", Robert Knapp is a part of the mission and is using his usual aircraft and this time, Merlin is flying as his wingman, by his side. Lieutenant JC Van Blook is the leader of this small Thunderbolts formation. In fact, they are only three, on of the aircraft having missed the take-off. While flying over Argentan, they enter the layer of clouds, studded with short rifts. Hardly has JC Van Bloom just recommended both his teammates to keep their eyes open for he has just caught sight of, through a break in the clouds, everal unidentified planes, that he hears Merlin's voice on the radio. "Blook, this is Isbell, I'm hit, I'm going down!" Bloom immediately breaks right and up and sees a Me 109 on Isbell's tail at about 75 yards. The 109 is firing and Bloom can see Isbell being hit on the right wing and side of the fuselage. Isbell makes no violent evasive action and seems to keep turning gently to the right, slightly nosing down and disappears underneath his nose. Isbell sounded very matter of fact when he called Bloom to say he had been hit. Robert Knapp nearly eyewitnessed the same scene. He sees a 109 less than 50 yards astern Isbell's aircraft and observes explosions in the right cowl and along the fuselage. It's at that time that Isbell calls Bloom on the radio. The plane doesn't seem seriously hit to him, so Knapp follows his leader, Bloom, who's chasing the 109s and both of them lose sight of Isbell's plane. In fact, Isbell's P-47 is in distress. Isbell himself, wounded in the throat, by some metal splinters, attempts the impossible and despite the very low altitude and his wound, he manages to hoist himself, and jumps while he is almost skimming the ground. His parachute harly opens that he is thrown to the ground, unconscious, but alive. Some Germans, occupying the neighboring castle, turned into a field hospital besides, pick him up and take him to this hospital. The German services do their best to take care of him, but his wound is serious, very serious. His carotid artery cut, he dies during the night, attended to by a devoted French woman. This is the end, banal and sad of Merlin Isbell, who came at 22 to France to die lying down on a bed belonging to the enemy he came to fight, in one of the most beautiful castles of this region of Normandy, looked after by a young French woman. On the morrow, some French people from the neighboring village claim his body and bury him temporarily in the local cemetery, after a religious service and with quite a few people in attendance despite the interdiction of the occupant. Those who saw him, before his burial, had but one word: "He looked 20..." In May 1949, Merlin Isbell went back home, in Illinois and is resting in the little cemetery of Smithville, near his native town, Hanna City. But the story of Merlin Isbell, like the story of Don Newcombe, doesn't stop there. Fifty years later, and two years after the meeting again of Rob and Ruth Ann, Don Newcombe's nephew and niece. UNCLE DON, with a past they haven't lived through, our search to find Merlin's relatives proves fruitful. Not only were we able to contarct Roy and Ray Isbell, Merlin's two younger twin brothers, but this time two of Merlin's nieces. Donna and Jeannie, who like Rob and Ruth Ann, never met their uncle, but nevertheless feel concerned, learn with great emotion all what pertains to the disappearance of their uncle, UNCLE MERLIN. In 1998, in May, Donna and Jeannie make the trip to France accompanied by Roy, their Daddie, one of Merlin's younger brothers. In Occagnes, the small village of Normandy, where Merlin crashed, our American friends get a very warm welcome by the village council and the population around a plaque "Merlin Isbell Lane" is placed at the beginning of the lane between the small village cemetery to the castle-hospital where Merlin spent his last night, his last hour. That was a very moving simple ceremony. Roy and Ray Isbell, and of course Donna and Jeannie, have memories of this tribute that was paid to their relatives, MERLIN, their brother and uncle, as ahve a little further north, June Essery, Rob and Ruth Ann, of the tribute paid to DON their brother and uncle. These two families, whose relative knew the same fate, never met each other, almost don't know each other's existence. The only thing they have in common was the fate of war took the life of one of their kin, the same way, one sunny summer day of 1944, thousands of miles away from their native land. Both were 22 year old men, and no one called them Uncle Don and Uncle Merlin yet...
He's A Hero In France.
Fifty years ago, Hanna City native Merlin Isbell died after his P-47 fighter crashed. Now, a half-century later, a tiny hamlet in France regards him as a hero. Phil Luciano tells why:
June 10, 1944, a day of hecatomb for the American Fighters in Normandy. That day, is for the USAAF, the darkest day of the whole battle of Normandy, with nearly fifty wrecks, debris of all kind strewing the soil of Normandy. Many pilots loses their lives that day. Besides this sad bookkeeping each of the missing pilots has his own history, even if officially, he will only be a KIA, Killed In Action. His way of dying doesn't affect the outcome of the war. A plane has been hit, falls, and turns into a shapelss scrap heap. At the same time, destiny has sealed the fate of the pilot, death in a plane crash or life at the end of a piece of silk. One of the fifty pilots who crashed on this June 10, 1944, delayed the immutable course of these two possibilities. And yet, Lieutenant Merlin Earl Isbell, a P-47 pilot within the 406th fighter-group, 514th Squadron still left this world that day. Merlin Isbell, 20 in 1943, a native of Hannah City, a small township near Peoria, Illinois, makes the same decision as many young Americans. He joins the military and volunteers to serve in the Air Force. A little later, his twin brothers, Roy and Ray, will enlist in the Navy, at 17! Merlin Isbell, upon completion of his training at the Junior Officers School, is assigned to the 406th Fighter group at the Congaree Army Air Force base, in South Carolina and after some intensive training, he is commissioned and receives his wings in August 1943. In March, 1944, the 406th is stationed in Camp Shanks, near New York, a transit station to Europ for the troops, then on March 22nd, the whole group boards a coverted troops ship, the HMT Sterling Castle, sailing to England. Based in Ashford, south-east England it's from there that all the missions toward the occupied territory are going to be launched. The first mission of Merlin Isbell and his mates is carried out without incidents but not without excitement as of May 9, 1944 and then like elsewhere, the routine sets in. There is a succession without attraction of escort missions. Quite often, Merlin uses the plane assigned to another pilot of his Flight, Robert Knapp, who christened his P-47 "Me Too". Why "Me Too"? If you'd know, Me Too! This June 10, 1944, Merlin Isbell isn't flying "Me Too", Robert Knapp is a part of the mission and is using his usual aircraft and this time, Merlin is flying as his wingman, by his side. Lieutenant JC Van Blook is the leader of this small Thunderbolts formation. In fact, they are only three, on of the aircraft having missed the take-off. While flying over Argentan, they enter the layer of clouds, studded with short rifts. Hardly has JC Van Bloom just recommended both his teammates to keep their eyes open for he has just caught sight of, through a break in the clouds, everal unidentified planes, that he hears Merlin's voice on the radio. "Blook, this is Isbell, I'm hit, I'm going down!" Bloom immediately breaks right and up and sees a Me 109 on Isbell's tail at about 75 yards. The 109 is firing and Bloom can see Isbell being hit on the right wing and side of the fuselage. Isbell makes no violent evasive action and seems to keep turning gently to the right, slightly nosing down and disappears underneath his nose. Isbell sounded very matter of fact when he called Bloom to say he had been hit. Robert Knapp nearly eyewitnessed the same scene. He sees a 109 less than 50 yards astern Isbell's aircraft and observes explosions in the right cowl and along the fuselage. It's at that time that Isbell calls Bloom on the radio. The plane doesn't seem seriously hit to him, so Knapp follows his leader, Bloom, who's chasing the 109s and both of them lose sight of Isbell's plane. In fact, Isbell's P-47 is in distress. Isbell himself, wounded in the throat, by some metal splinters, attempts the impossible and despite the very low altitude and his wound, he manages to hoist himself, and jumps while he is almost skimming the ground. His parachute harly opens that he is thrown to the ground, unconscious, but alive. Some Germans, occupying the neighboring castle, turned into a field hospital besides, pick him up and take him to this hospital. The German services do their best to take care of him, but his wound is serious, very serious. His carotid artery cut, he dies during the night, attended to by a devoted French woman. This is the end, banal and sad of Merlin Isbell, who came at 22 to France to die lying down on a bed belonging to the enemy he came to fight, in one of the most beautiful castles of this region of Normandy, looked after by a young French woman. On the morrow, some French people from the neighboring village claim his body and bury him temporarily in the local cemetery, after a religious service and with quite a few people in attendance despite the interdiction of the occupant. Those who saw him, before his burial, had but one word: "He looked 20..." In May 1949, Merlin Isbell went back home, in Illinois and is resting in the little cemetery of Smithville, near his native town, Hanna City. But the story of Merlin Isbell, like the story of Don Newcombe, doesn't stop there. Fifty years later, and two years after the meeting again of Rob and Ruth Ann, Don Newcombe's nephew and niece. UNCLE DON, with a past they haven't lived through, our search to find Merlin's relatives proves fruitful. Not only were we able to contarct Roy and Ray Isbell, Merlin's two younger twin brothers, but this time two of Merlin's nieces. Donna and Jeannie, who like Rob and Ruth Ann, never met their uncle, but nevertheless feel concerned, learn with great emotion all what pertains to the disappearance of their uncle, UNCLE MERLIN. In 1998, in May, Donna and Jeannie make the trip to France accompanied by Roy, their Daddie, one of Merlin's younger brothers. In Occagnes, the small village of Normandy, where Merlin crashed, our American friends get a very warm welcome by the village council and the population around a plaque "Merlin Isbell Lane" is placed at the beginning of the lane between the small village cemetery to the castle-hospital where Merlin spent his last night, his last hour. That was a very moving simple ceremony. Roy and Ray Isbell, and of course Donna and Jeannie, have memories of this tribute that was paid to their relatives, MERLIN, their brother and uncle, as ahve a little further north, June Essery, Rob and Ruth Ann, of the tribute paid to DON their brother and uncle. These two families, whose relative knew the same fate, never met each other, almost don't know each other's existence. The only thing they have in common was the fate of war took the life of one of their kin, the same way, one sunny summer day of 1944, thousands of miles away from their native land. Both were 22 year old men, and no one called them Uncle Don and Uncle Merlin yet...
Merlin lost his life when his plane was shot down in Normandy, France during WWII. The village where he died have named a street after him and have plaque remembering him. He was 22.
He's A Hero In France.
Fifty years ago, Hanna City native Merlin Isbell died after his P-47 fighter crashed. Now, a half-century later, a tiny hamlet in France regards him as a hero. Phil Luciano tells why:
June 10, 1944, a day of hecatomb for the American Fighters in Normandy. That day, is for the USAAF, the darkest day of the whole battle of Normandy, with nearly fifty wrecks, debris of all kind strewing the soil of Normandy. Many pilots loses their lives that day. Besides this sad bookkeeping each of the missing pilots has his own history, even if officially, he will only be a KIA, Killed In Action. His way of dying doesn't affect the outcome of the war. A plane has been hit, falls, and turns into a shapelss scrap heap. At the same time, destiny has sealed the fate of the pilot, death in a plane crash or life at the end of a piece of silk. One of the fifty pilots who crashed on this June 10, 1944, delayed the immutable course of these two possibilities. And yet, Lieutenant Merlin Earl Isbell, a P-47 pilot within the 406th fighter-group, 514th Squadron still left this world that day. Merlin Isbell, 20 in 1943, a native of Hannah City, a small township near Peoria, Illinois, makes the same decision as many young Americans. He joins the military and volunteers to serve in the Air Force. A little later, his twin brothers, Roy and Ray, will enlist in the Navy, at 17! Merlin Isbell, upon completion of his training at the Junior Officers School, is assigned to the 406th Fighter group at the Congaree Army Air Force base, in South Carolina and after some intensive training, he is commissioned and receives his wings in August 1943. In March, 1944, the 406th is stationed in Camp Shanks, near New York, a transit station to Europ for the troops, then on March 22nd, the whole group boards a coverted troops ship, the HMT Sterling Castle, sailing to England. Based in Ashford, south-east England it's from there that all the missions toward the occupied territory are going to be launched. The first mission of Merlin Isbell and his mates is carried out without incidents but not without excitement as of May 9, 1944 and then like elsewhere, the routine sets in. There is a succession without attraction of escort missions. Quite often, Merlin uses the plane assigned to another pilot of his Flight, Robert Knapp, who christened his P-47 "Me Too". Why "Me Too"? If you'd know, Me Too! This June 10, 1944, Merlin Isbell isn't flying "Me Too", Robert Knapp is a part of the mission and is using his usual aircraft and this time, Merlin is flying as his wingman, by his side. Lieutenant JC Van Blook is the leader of this small Thunderbolts formation. In fact, they are only three, on of the aircraft having missed the take-off. While flying over Argentan, they enter the layer of clouds, studded with short rifts. Hardly has JC Van Bloom just recommended both his teammates to keep their eyes open for he has just caught sight of, through a break in the clouds, everal unidentified planes, that he hears Merlin's voice on the radio. "Blook, this is Isbell, I'm hit, I'm going down!" Bloom immediately breaks right and up and sees a Me 109 on Isbell's tail at about 75 yards. The 109 is firing and Bloom can see Isbell being hit on the right wing and side of the fuselage. Isbell makes no violent evasive action and seems to keep turning gently to the right, slightly nosing down and disappears underneath his nose. Isbell sounded very matter of fact when he called Bloom to say he had been hit. Robert Knapp nearly eyewitnessed the same scene. He sees a 109 less than 50 yards astern Isbell's aircraft and observes explosions in the right cowl and along the fuselage. It's at that time that Isbell calls Bloom on the radio. The plane doesn't seem seriously hit to him, so Knapp follows his leader, Bloom, who's chasing the 109s and both of them lose sight of Isbell's plane. In fact, Isbell's P-47 is in distress. Isbell himself, wounded in the throat, by some metal splinters, attempts the impossible and despite the very low altitude and his wound, he manages to hoist himself, and jumps while he is almost skimming the ground. His parachute harly opens that he is thrown to the ground, unconscious, but alive. Some Germans, occupying the neighboring castle, turned into a field hospital besides, pick him up and take him to this hospital. The German services do their best to take care of him, but his wound is serious, very serious. His carotid artery cut, he dies during the night, attended to by a devoted French woman. This is the end, banal and sad of Merlin Isbell, who came at 22 to France to die lying down on a bed belonging to the enemy he came to fight, in one of the most beautiful castles of this region of Normandy, looked after by a young French woman. On the morrow, some French people from the neighboring village claim his body and bury him temporarily in the local cemetery, after a religious service and with quite a few people in attendance despite the interdiction of the occupant. Those who saw him, before his burial, had but one word: "He looked 20..." In May 1949, Merlin Isbell went back home, in Illinois and is resting in the little cemetery of Smithville, near his native town, Hanna City. But the story of Merlin Isbell, like the story of Don Newcombe, doesn't stop there. Fifty years later, and two years after the meeting again of Rob and Ruth Ann, Don Newcombe's nephew and niece. UNCLE DON, with a past they haven't lived through, our search to find Merlin's relatives proves fruitful. Not only were we able to contarct Roy and Ray Isbell, Merlin's two younger twin brothers, but this time two of Merlin's nieces. Donna and Jeannie, who like Rob and Ruth Ann, never met their uncle, but nevertheless feel concerned, learn with great emotion all what pertains to the disappearance of their uncle, UNCLE MERLIN. In 1998, in May, Donna and Jeannie make the trip to France accompanied by Roy, their Daddie, one of Merlin's younger brothers. In Occagnes, the small village of Normandy, where Merlin crashed, our American friends get a very warm welcome by the village council and the population around a plaque "Merlin Isbell Lane" is placed at the beginning of the lane between the small village cemetery to the castle-hospital where Merlin spent his last night, his last hour. That was a very moving simple ceremony. Roy and Ray Isbell, and of course Donna and Jeannie, have memories of this tribute that was paid to their relatives, MERLIN, their brother and uncle, as ahve a little further north, June Essery, Rob and Ruth Ann, of the tribute paid to DON their brother and uncle. These two families, whose relative knew the same fate, never met each other, almost don't know each other's existence. The only thing they have in common was the fate of war took the life of one of their kin, the same way, one sunny summer day of 1944, thousands of miles away from their native land. Both were 22 year old men, and no one called them Uncle Don and Uncle Merlin yet...
He's A Hero In France.
Fifty years ago, Hanna City native Merlin Isbell died after his P-47 fighter crashed. Now, a half-century later, a tiny hamlet in France regards him as a hero. Phil Luciano tells why:
June 10, 1944, a day of hecatomb for the American Fighters in Normandy. That day, is for the USAAF, the darkest day of the whole battle of Normandy, with nearly fifty wrecks, debris of all kind strewing the soil of Normandy. Many pilots loses their lives that day. Besides this sad bookkeeping each of the missing pilots has his own history, even if officially, he will only be a KIA, Killed In Action. His way of dying doesn't affect the outcome of the war. A plane has been hit, falls, and turns into a shapelss scrap heap. At the same time, destiny has sealed the fate of the pilot, death in a plane crash or life at the end of a piece of silk. One of the fifty pilots who crashed on this June 10, 1944, delayed the immutable course of these two possibilities. And yet, Lieutenant Merlin Earl Isbell, a P-47 pilot within the 406th fighter-group, 514th Squadron still left this world that day. Merlin Isbell, 20 in 1943, a native of Hannah City, a small township near Peoria, Illinois, makes the same decision as many young Americans. He joins the military and volunteers to serve in the Air Force. A little later, his twin brothers, Roy and Ray, will enlist in the Navy, at 17! Merlin Isbell, upon completion of his training at the Junior Officers School, is assigned to the 406th Fighter group at the Congaree Army Air Force base, in South Carolina and after some intensive training, he is commissioned and receives his wings in August 1943. In March, 1944, the 406th is stationed in Camp Shanks, near New York, a transit station to Europ for the troops, then on March 22nd, the whole group boards a coverted troops ship, the HMT Sterling Castle, sailing to England. Based in Ashford, south-east England it's from there that all the missions toward the occupied territory are going to be launched. The first mission of Merlin Isbell and his mates is carried out without incidents but not without excitement as of May 9, 1944 and then like elsewhere, the routine sets in. There is a succession without attraction of escort missions. Quite often, Merlin uses the plane assigned to another pilot of his Flight, Robert Knapp, who christened his P-47 "Me Too". Why "Me Too"? If you'd know, Me Too! This June 10, 1944, Merlin Isbell isn't flying "Me Too", Robert Knapp is a part of the mission and is using his usual aircraft and this time, Merlin is flying as his wingman, by his side. Lieutenant JC Van Blook is the leader of this small Thunderbolts formation. In fact, they are only three, on of the aircraft having missed the take-off. While flying over Argentan, they enter the layer of clouds, studded with short rifts. Hardly has JC Van Bloom just recommended both his teammates to keep their eyes open for he has just caught sight of, through a break in the clouds, everal unidentified planes, that he hears Merlin's voice on the radio. "Blook, this is Isbell, I'm hit, I'm going down!" Bloom immediately breaks right and up and sees a Me 109 on Isbell's tail at about 75 yards. The 109 is firing and Bloom can see Isbell being hit on the right wing and side of the fuselage. Isbell makes no violent evasive action and seems to keep turning gently to the right, slightly nosing down and disappears underneath his nose. Isbell sounded very matter of fact when he called Bloom to say he had been hit. Robert Knapp nearly eyewitnessed the same scene. He sees a 109 less than 50 yards astern Isbell's aircraft and observes explosions in the right cowl and along the fuselage. It's at that time that Isbell calls Bloom on the radio. The plane doesn't seem seriously hit to him, so Knapp follows his leader, Bloom, who's chasing the 109s and both of them lose sight of Isbell's plane. In fact, Isbell's P-47 is in distress. Isbell himself, wounded in the throat, by some metal splinters, attempts the impossible and despite the very low altitude and his wound, he manages to hoist himself, and jumps while he is almost skimming the ground. His parachute harly opens that he is thrown to the ground, unconscious, but alive. Some Germans, occupying the neighboring castle, turned into a field hospital besides, pick him up and take him to this hospital. The German services do their best to take care of him, but his wound is serious, very serious. His carotid artery cut, he dies during the night, attended to by a devoted French woman. This is the end, banal and sad of Merlin Isbell, who came at 22 to France to die lying down on a bed belonging to the enemy he came to fight, in one of the most beautiful castles of this region of Normandy, looked after by a young French woman. On the morrow, some French people from the neighboring village claim his body and bury him temporarily in the local cemetery, after a religious service and with quite a few people in attendance despite the interdiction of the occupant. Those who saw him, before his burial, had but one word: "He looked 20..." In May 1949, Merlin Isbell went back home, in Illinois and is resting in the little cemetery of Smithville, near his native town, Hanna City. But the story of Merlin Isbell, like the story of Don Newcombe, doesn't stop there. Fifty years later, and two years after the meeting again of Rob and Ruth Ann, Don Newcombe's nephew and niece. UNCLE DON, with a past they haven't lived through, our search to find Merlin's relatives proves fruitful. Not only were we able to contarct Roy and Ray Isbell, Merlin's two younger twin brothers, but this time two of Merlin's nieces. Donna and Jeannie, who like Rob and Ruth Ann, never met their uncle, but nevertheless feel concerned, learn with great emotion all what pertains to the disappearance of their uncle, UNCLE MERLIN. In 1998, in May, Donna and Jeannie make the trip to France accompanied by Roy, their Daddie, one of Merlin's younger brothers. In Occagnes, the small village of Normandy, where Merlin crashed, our American friends get a very warm welcome by the village council and the population around a plaque "Merlin Isbell Lane" is placed at the beginning of the lane between the small village cemetery to the castle-hospital where Merlin spent his last night, his last hour. That was a very moving simple ceremony. Roy and Ray Isbell, and of course Donna and Jeannie, have memories of this tribute that was paid to their relatives, MERLIN, their brother and uncle, as ahve a little further north, June Essery, Rob and Ruth Ann, of the tribute paid to DON their brother and uncle. These two families, whose relative knew the same fate, never met each other, almost don't know each other's existence. The only thing they have in common was the fate of war took the life of one of their kin, the same way, one sunny summer day of 1944, thousands of miles away from their native land. Both were 22 year old men, and no one called them Uncle Don and Uncle Merlin yet...
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