Staff Sergeant Lloyd Eugene Everett, Army serial number 14151525, was born at Franklin County, Mississippi (probably on the family farm at Bude, Mississippi) on April 11, 1921. His parents were Micajah Cicero Everett (15 Aug 1888 – 24 Apr 1950), who was born at Little Springs, Franklin County, Mississippi; and Ethel V. (Lyons) Everett (13 Jun 1897 – 23 Dec 1992), who was born in Mississippi. His parents married about 1918. He had two brothers, Marshall Cicero Everett (11 Jan 1919 – 27 Jan 1991) and William Rex 'Bill' Everett Sr (4 Oct 1924 – 1 Sep 2004).

In 1920 the family lived at Bude, Franklin County, Mississippi and his father was a farmer. In 1930 the family lived at Summit, Pike County, Mississippi, and his father was a machinist in a railroad shop. His paternal grandfather, William Albert 'Pete' Everett (1849 – 1932), lived with the family. By 1935 the family lived at McComb in Pike County, Mississippi, a major hub of the Illinois Central Railroad, and his father was a mechanic in a railroad shop.

He completed three years of high school, and registered for the draft at McComb, Mississippi on February 16, 1942. He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed 118 pounds, and had gray eyes and brown hair. At that time he worked for the Illinois Central Railroad in McComb as a semiskilled mechanic and repairman. He was married to Mary Belle (Jones) Everett (later Rutland) when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on November 9, 1942. His home of record was 621 Avenue F, McComb, Mississippi, his wife's address in 1944.

He completed Army Air Forces flight engineer and aerial gunnery training, and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Lt David L. Ozbolt in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. The Ozbolt crew completed B-24 crew training with the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, and deployed with the Group to England in March 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.

On July 20, 1944, the Ozbolt crew was flying B-24H 42-51197 on a practice bombing mission at Ducks Hall bombing range just west of Lavenham. After a practice bomb run, the aircraft collided with another 487th Bomb Group aircraft, B-17G 43-37840, flown by the crew of Lt Paul M. Stults, that was also on a training mission. The B-24 spun in and crashed near Cavendish, England. S/Sgt Everett bailed out and survived, but five of his crewmates, including pilot Lt Ozbolt, were killed. Five men aboard the B-17 were killed when their aircraft crashed in a wheat field near the officers club at Lavenham Airfield.

S/Sgt Everett was reassigned as ball turret gunner on the crew of 1st Lieutenant Joseph A. Duncan, in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. Here is Lt Duncan's crew roster on August 25, 1944:

B-17G 43-37980 – 839th Bomb Squadron

• Duncan, Joseph A – 1/Lt – Pilot – POW

• Rogers, Winston S – Capt – Air Leader – KIA

• Jones, Richard L – Capt – Pilotage Navigator – KIA

• Friedman, Ely N – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA

• Dolan, James J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Henahan, Joseph W – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Brown, Gerard F – T/Sgt – Radio operator – KIA

• Everett, Lloyd E – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Brown, Rhodes L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA

• Wolyn, Monroe S – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

• Hood Jr, James – 2/Lt – Tail Gunner – MIA

On August 25, 1944, the Duncan crew took off from Lavenham Airfield in B-17G 43-37980 on a mission to bomb the German airfield at Rechlin, Germany. Captain Winston S. Rogers flew in the copilot position as Air Leader. Copilot Lt James Hood Jr moved to the tail gunner position as Officer Tail Gunner and formation observer. S/Sgt Everett and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was hit by flak just after bombs away over Rechlin, Germany. The right outer wing was lost, and the burning aircraft went into a spin, exploded, and crashed in Muritz Lake (Müritzsee) near Boek, Germany, north of the target. Two crew members, 1/Lt Joseph Anderson Duncan and S/Sgt Monroe Stanley Wolyn, were blown clear and survived. Lt Hood apparently never left his position in the tail, and went down with the aircraft wreckage in Muritz Lake.

S/Sgt Everett's body was recovered on the shore of Muritz Lake on September 20, 1944. His remains and those of seven of his crewmates were buried initially at the Retzow Cemetery in Retzow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, a short distance north of Rechlin Airfield. Lt Hood's body was never found, and his remains were deemed nonrecoverable in August 1949.

S/Sgt Everett's remains were disinterred from Retzow Cemetery on 17 July 1947, moved to the U.S. Military Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, and reinterred there in Plot AA, Row 11, Grave 254. His remains were returned to the United States aboard USAT Haiti Victory. The ship departed Antwerp Harbor, Belgium on April 22, 1949, and arrived at the New York Port of Entry on May 4, 1949. The remains arrived by train at McComb, Mississippi on June 4, 1949. Following a service at East Baptist Church on Sunday, June 5, 1949, his remains were interred with full military honors at Hollywood Cemetery in McComb. Catchings Funeral Home at 506 Maryland Avenue in McComb handled the arrangements.

He is buried in Park Addition, Section B, Square 2, Lot A, next to his parents. His younger brother, William Rex 'Bill' Everett Sr, is also buried at Hollywood Cemetery.

Sources:

1. 49 Squadron Association. Retzow Cemetery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

2. 487th Bomb Group Association

3. 1920 US Census; Mississippi; Franklin County; Monroe. Everett, Micaja C. 2 Jan 1920 (Micajah C. Everett, his father)

4. 1930 US Census; Mississippi; Pike County; Summit Town. Everett, Micaja C. 8 Apr 1930 (Micajah C. Everett, his father)

5. 1940 US Census; Mississippi; Pike County; McComb City. Everett, Micajah. 8 Apr 1940 (his father)

6. Cemetery records of Hollywood Cemetery, McComb, MS

7. Clarion-Ledger. Obituary of Lloyd E. Everett. Jackson MS, 4 Jun 1949

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

9. Enlistment record of Lloyd E. Everett

10. Enterprise-Journal. Obituary of Micajah C. Everett. McComb MS, 24 Apr 1950 (his father)

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

12. Social Security Death Index

13. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 8470

14. U.S. Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Technical Records Section. Individual Deceased Personnel File of Lloyd E. Everett, 14151525 (aka '293 File')

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

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

17. World War I Draft Registration of Micajah Cicero Everett. 5 Jun 1917 (his father)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572

Last edited 3 Mar 2024