First Lieutenant
United States Army Air Forces
Mahlon T. Stelle, the son of Charles T. and Zylpha Stelle, was born circa 1920.
He graduated from Burlington (Iowa) High School with the Class of 1939.
In May 1942, Mahlon enlisted in the United States Army Air Force. After flight training, he left for England where he eventually took part in the D-Day invasion of France as a P-47 fighter pilot. One of his missions that day was to destroy German vehicles along the main road to Vier, France. At approximately 2 p.m. that afternoon, Mahlon’s plane (named Nancy Ann after his two year old daughter) crashed ten miles southwest of Villers-Bocage, France. It wasn’t until late November 1944, that his wife Cherie was notified that Mahlon was Killed-In-Action on 6 June 1944.
His wife, daughter, parents, and sister Georgiana survived him.
First Lieutenant Mahlon T. Stelle, United States Army Air Forces, is buried at Brittany American Cemetery in Saint James, France.
Among his awards and decorations is the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, and Purple Heart.
Source of information:
1. The Burlington Hawk-eye Gazette, 29 November 1944, page 2.
2. The Hell Hawks 365th Fighter Group (The Men We Knew) web site; http://www.hellhawk.com/weknew.htm
3. The Hell Hawks 365th Fighter Group (the Men of the 387th) web site; http://www.hellhawk.com/387fs.htm
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