Technical Sergeant Carl Lee Late, Army serial number 39121410, was born at Gore, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma on February 3, 1923. He was the youngest of five children of Bert Lee Late (18 Sep 1884 – 10 Sep 1962), who was born in Indian Territory (Nowata County, Oklahoma), and Vivian Gresilda (Garrett) Late (31 Mar 1893 – 21 Dec 1957), who was born at Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas. His parents married in Oklahoma about 1911. His father was an oil pumper and a farmer. By 1930 his parents were divorced, and he lived with his mother at Gore, Oklahoma. He later moved with his mother to Arcata, Humboldt County, California, his home of record. He graduated from Arcata High School in 1941. His senior class photo in the school's 1941 yearbook is accompanied by this entry:

------------

CARL L. LATE

"Second thoughts are ever wiser."

------------

He registered for the draft at Eureka, Humboldt County, California on June 30, 1942. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 155 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived with his mother and was employed by L. C. Hammond Lumber Company in nearby Samoa, California. (Two of his brothers also worked for the company.) He worked as a lumberman and was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at San Francisco, California, on January 23, 1943.

He completed Army Air Forces flight engineer and aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as engineer on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Bert R. Zerr. By December 1943 the Zerr crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field near Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Zerr crew was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52736 overseas from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

The 487th Bomb Group transitioned from the B-24 'Liberator' to the B-17 'Flying Fortress' heavy bomber in July 1944. On August 5, 1944 T/Sgt Late flew as flight engineer on the crew of Lt Charlton A. Deuschle in the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. Here is Lt Deuschle's crew roster on that day:

B-17G 43-38007 – 838th Bomb Squadron

• Deuschle, Charlton A – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW

• Steffens, Eugene F – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA

• Underwood, Allan B – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA

• Gregory, Jesse E – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Late, Carl L – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Cochran, William J – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA

• Hinkson Jr, Harry M – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA

• Deelaney, Grady E – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Haglund, John L – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA

• Crooker, Robert J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

T/Sgt Late and seven of his crewmates were killed in action on August 5, 1944 when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38007, was shot down by flak on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory at Magdeburg, Germany. The aircraft received direct hits just before bombs away, and exploded within seconds. The fuselage broke apart aft of the ball turret, and part of the right wing came off. Most of the men were either killed instantly, or were ejected from the aircraft without their chutes. The aircraft crashed near Lostau, Germany, about 13 kilometers southwest of Burg, near Magdeburg. (The Germans reported that it crashed between Gerwisch and Biederitz, just south of Lostau—vicinity of 52.173°N, 11.731°E.) Pilot 2/Lt Deuschle and gunner Sgt Robert J. Crooker survived and became prisoners of war. The dead were buried initially at the village cemetery in Lostau.

After the war, T/Sgt Late's remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery in Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium in Plot D, Row 15, Grave 21.

Some relatives:

     One brother, Daniel George Late (20 Jun 1917 – 25 Dec 1993), was born in Oklahoma and died at Humboldt County, California.

     His father's parents were Daniel Christian Late (abt 1849 – 17 Feb 1926), who was born at Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland; and Lucetta Marie (Gaskill) Late (17 Nov 1854 – 15 Apr 1935), who was born at Mount Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey. They both died at Tyro, Montgomery County, Kansas.

     His mother's parents were George Washington Garrett (4 Feb 1863 – 20 Apr 1951), who was born at Jefferson County, Illinois; and Annetta (Dunn) Garrett (13 Aug 1872 – 20 Sep 1952), who was born near Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois. They married at Pope County, Arkansas on 4 May 1890. They both died at Arcata, Humboldt County, California.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1900 US Census; Kansas; Montgomery County; Fawn Creek Township. Late, Daniel C. 18 Jun 1900 (his father's father)

3. 1920 US Census; Oklahoma; Washington County; Dewey. Gates, Bert G [sic]. Jan 1920 (Bert Lee Late, his father)

4. 1930 US Census; Oklahoma; Sequoyah County; Gore. Tate, Vivan [sic]. Apr 1930 (Vivian G. Late, his mother)

5. 1940 US Census; Oklahoma; Nowata County; Hickory Township. Late, Bert L. 10 Apr 1940 (his father)

6. American Battle Monuments Commission

7. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004

8. Enlistment Record of Carl L. Late

9. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 Mar 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon orders to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England)

10. HQ, Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona. Special Orders Number 1. 1 Jan 1944 (transfer of fifty heavy bomber combat crews, less navigators, from Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona to the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico)

11. Mundia.com (ancestry.com) profiles of Carl L. Late

12. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 7893

13. U.S. Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949 (ancestry.com)

14. U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939–1945:

15. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900–1999 (ancestry.com): Advance [yearbook]. Arcata CA: Arcata High School, 1941

16. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946

17. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)

18. World War I Draft Registration of Bert Lee Late. 12 Sep 1918 (his father)

19. World War II Draft Registration of Bert Lee Late. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572