World War II Honoree

Forrest S. Chilton, III

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Pompton Plains, New Jersey

Honored By

Forrest S. Chilton, IV

Relationship

Son

On June 21, 1944, about two weeks after D-Day, he participated in a dive bombing mission to St. Quentin, France. He was the pilot and sole occupant of a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber when struck be anti-aircraft ground fire. He attempted returning to England, though his plane had low oil pressure and was eventually on fire. About 2315 hours (11:15 pm), he radioed that he was bailing out of his plane, which eventually crashed in the English Channel. Another pilot saw him bail out of his burning aircraft. Witnesses noted his parachute opening and hitting the water below, as well as his life raft inflating. He was never seen in the water. Search and rescue never recovered his body. A few weeks later, July of 1944, the U.S. Army confirmed his status as Missing in Action. In July of 1945 the U.S. Army officially determined he had died in the European area. He was awarded the purple heart posthumously on August 22, 1945 for the sacrifice of his life for his country. In November 1945 his family further received his award of the Air Medal in recognition of meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight in the European Theatre of Operations.