2d Lt Neal Victor Nelson
December 10, 1917 – May 11, 1944
Class: 43-I-SE
Graduation Date: October 1, 1943
Graduation Rank:
Unit: 324th Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron
Service # O-814200
Neal was born in 1917 in Amarillo, Texas. He was living in Chicago when he completed his WWII Draft card in 1940. He was a student at Langston University in Oklahoma. The card lists his mother as Mrs. Netia Hollingsworth Stewart, living in Wewoka Oklahoma.
He enlisted in the army air force as an aviation cadet in May of 1942. He had completed his education at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma. He graduated on Oct 1, 1943 from the institute and was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron. he was stationed at Pignararo Airfield.
On May 11, 1944, the big drive against the enemy began. The Fifth and Eighth Armies charged forward. The 99th also went into action as support for the ground troops. On D-Day, May 11, it flew 31 sorties and dropped 30,000 pounds of bombs on enemy positions. However, the Squadron suffered a casualty when LT Neil V. Nelson of Amarillo, TX and also from Chicago, IL, failed to return from a mission. He was last observed pulling into formation after making his bomb run. According to pilots who made the mission, visibility was so poor in the target area that they were forced to pick their way through clouds. This factor and the high concentration of flak was attributed to the probable cause of Nelson’s failure to return from the mission.
It is not clear where Neal is buried. His name is not listed on the MIA list for WWII casualties.
Sources:
HonorStates.org
WikiTree.com
