Second Lieutenant Kenneth Lee Moore (O-714981) was born April 1, 1922 in Big Sandy, Chouteau County, Montana, to Wesley LeMoyne and Phyllis Lucille Miller Moore. His father was owner and manager of a furniture exchange and was also a World War I Navy veteran. Kenneth had one older brother who served as a Private in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II.

Kenneth had completed High School and attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces and became a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot, receiving his pilot wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force flying P-47s out of AAF-357, Duxford, England.

RAF/USAAF Duxford (AAF-357) was located at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England. It was the home base of the 78th Fighter Group “The Duxford Eagles” (82nd, 83rd, 84th Fighter Squadrons) of the Eighth Air Force. Flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, the 78th FG flew many missions to escort B-17 and B-24 bombers that attacked targets throughout Continental Europe. The unit also engaged in counter-air activities and on numerous occasions strafed and dive-bombed airfields, trains, vehicles, barges, tugs, canal locks, barracks, and troops. The group supported the Normandy landings, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô, the Battle of the Bulge, and the airborne assault across the Rhine. The 78th Fighter Group occupied AAF-357 from April 13, 1944 to April 25, 1945.

On September 9, 1944, 2 Lt. Moore departed AAF-357 in P-47D-15RE 42-26333 MX-O nicknamed “Margaret Mace” with a flight of the 82nd FS on a fighter bomber escort mission to the Koblenz, Germany, area 340 miles southeast of AAF-357. After leaving the bombers and strafing locomotives around Marburg, Germany, enemy Fw-190s were spotted south of Marburg. 2 Lt. Moore and his flight leader chased two Fw-190s on the deck for about five minutes when they were bounced by another Fw-190. The leader was hit in the left wing and radioed that he was going out of the area. He called 2 Lt. Moore and asked that Moore radio him when Moore had crossed the Rhine River on the way home. 2 Lt. Moore radioed a few minutes later when he was probably around Koblenz that he had joined another P-47 and was going out. This was the last that was heard from him. MACR 8693

German report J-2132 stated that 2 Lt. Moore crashed one mile west of the Rhine at Dellhofen, Germany, one mile south of Oberwesel. He was 22 years old.

2 Lt. Moore is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial at Neuville-en-Condroz, Neupré, Belgium in Plot A, Row 26, Grave 13. This cemetery is the final resting place for 5,329 Americans, with 65 percent of those being fallen airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Their headstones are aligned in straight rows that compose the form of a Greek cross. Along the outside of the memorial, 463 names are inscribed on the granite Tablets of the Missing.

2 Lt. Moore was the Purple Heart.

Thank you for your sacrifice and service, 2 Lt. Moore….Rest in Peace.

This story is part of the

Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a

national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US

WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these

stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war

memorial or cemetery.

SBTSProject/Colorado

If you noticed anything

erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it,

please contact me at roktscientist@hotmail.com.

Sources:

1. 1930, 1940 Federal Census

2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56359925/kenneth-lee-moore

3. https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/missing-aircrew-reports/macr-08693-42-76351.cfm

4. https://www.ancestry.com

4. https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=1684469

5. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/kenneth-lee-moore

6. https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=47385

7. https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/moore%3Dkenneth-2

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78th_Fighter_Group

9. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/78th-fighter-group

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:82d_Fighter_Squadron_-_RAF_Duxford.jpg

11. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/82nd-fighter-squadron

12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt

13. Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

Photo Credits:

1. findagrave.com, newspapers.com, pinterest.co.uk, wikipedia.com

Kenneth L Moore