He was the son of Robert B Gills and Roberta G 'Bertie' (Hubbard) Gills.
Gills was the flight engineer on B-17E #41-9244, assigned to the 5th Air Force, 43rd Bombardment Group, 64th Bombardment Squadron. The plane was nicknamed 'Honi Kuu Okole', which means 'kiss my ass' in Hawaiian.
In the early morning hours of May 21, 1943 the plane took off from Dobodura Airfield in Papua New Guinea to bomb Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. before arriving at the target, however, the plane was attacked by a Japanese night fighter and seriously damaged. The pilot turned the bomber southward and ordered the crew to bail out. Only three managed to escape before the plane crashed into the ocean.
He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Gills is also memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Gills was the flight engineer on B-17E #41-9244, assigned to the 5th Air Force, 43rd Bombardment Group, 64th Bombardment Squadron. The plane was nicknamed 'Honi Kuu Okole', which means 'kiss my ass' in Hawaiian.
In the early morning hours of May 21, 1943 the plane took off from Dobodura Airfield in Papua New Guinea to bomb Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. before arriving at the target, however, the plane was attacked by a Japanese night fighter and seriously damaged. The pilot turned the bomber southward and ordered the crew to bail out. Only three managed to escape before the plane crashed into the ocean.
He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Gills is also memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
He was the son of Robert B Gills and Roberta G 'Bertie' (Hubbard) Gills.
Gills was the flight engineer on B-17E #41-9244, assigned to the 5th Air Force, 43rd Bombardment Group, 64th Bombardment Squadron. The plane was nicknamed 'Honi Kuu Okole', which means 'kiss my ass' in Hawaiian.
In the early morning hours of May 21, 1943 the plane took off from Dobodura Airfield in Papua New Guinea to bomb Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. before arriving at the target, however, the plane was attacked by a Japanese night fighter and seriously damaged. The pilot turned the bomber southward and ordered the crew to bail out. Only three managed to escape before the plane crashed into the ocean.
He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Gills is also memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Gills was the flight engineer on B-17E #41-9244, assigned to the 5th Air Force, 43rd Bombardment Group, 64th Bombardment Squadron. The plane was nicknamed 'Honi Kuu Okole', which means 'kiss my ass' in Hawaiian.
In the early morning hours of May 21, 1943 the plane took off from Dobodura Airfield in Papua New Guinea to bomb Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. before arriving at the target, however, the plane was attacked by a Japanese night fighter and seriously damaged. The pilot turned the bomber southward and ordered the crew to bail out. Only three managed to escape before the plane crashed into the ocean.
He received the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Gills is also memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Family Members
Other Records
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Records on Ancestry
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1920 United States Federal Census
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Virginia, U.S., Birth Records, 1912-2015, Delayed Birth Records, 1721-1920
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Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current
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U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985
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1940 United States Federal Census
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