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Personal info

Full name
CARGILE, Nolan B
Date of birth
24 September 1915
Age
27
Place of birth
Arkansas
Hometown
Hempstead County, Arkansas

Military service

Service number
O-427211
Rank
First Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
68th Bombardment Squadron,
44th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
27 January 1943
Place of death
Harlingen/Terschelling, The Netherlands

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
James T. Cargile (father)
Mollie M. (Odom) Cargile (mother)
Dolan Cargile (twin-brother)
Helen (Ammons) Cargile (wife)
Carolyn Cargile (daughter)

Plane data

Serial number
41-23690
Data
Type: B-24J
Destination: Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the naval base
MACR: 15637

More information

1st Lt Nolan B. Cargile graduated from Hope High School in 1938 and attended Louisiana State Normal, Oklahoma Military Academy, and Tulsa University.

He joined the Army Air Corps in October 1940 and was sent overseas on 19 May 1942,

The primary target as briefed was Wilhelmshaven in Germany, but due to severe weather and poor navigation, it was decided to hit a “target of opportunity” at Lemmer in the Netherlands. On the way back, the formation was attacked by Me 109s and FW 190s, numbering about 36. A few minutes later, at 1155 hours, the aircraft severely damaged an attacking FW 190 and apparently killed the pilot. This enemy aircraft then crashed into the left wing tip, tearing off the left wing as well as the tail assembly. The aircraft went into a flat spin and crashed into the rather shallow Wadden Sea, as did the FW. No one was able to parachute and there were no survivors. Despite a large-scale search by both the Germans and Dutch, only the bodies of three American airmen were found and identified.

1st Lt Cargile is remembered at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Hope, Hempstead County, Arkansas.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Analea and Gazelle´s Family Tree

Photo source: Peter Schouteten, http://www.626-squadron.co.uk/willem21.htm - USAF 44th, Hope Star - 9 March 1941