Reese W. Lindsay

(Joined SigEp 1939)
[Killed on Active Duty]

North Olmstead, Ohio, Dover High School

The Army Air Corps—P-36’s and P-40’s—His commission—B-24’s and the 8th Air Force—“Flying is the best there is!”

October, 1943

[Greenwood, Miss.]

You have my latest address from the envelope. It changes every 60 days – as we move on to the next phase of flight training. Above is a picture of the ships we’re using right now. They’re classy jobs, but after November 1st we’ll be in P-36’s and P-40’s, which are only one step from combat! Around Christmas time it’ll be “Lieutenant Lindsay,” if all goes well. I’ve been in training six months. Those gold bars on my shoulders won’t be the only ones celebrated over, take a confirmed rounder’s word.
I’ve heard news from no one but Charlie Wolf, and am familiar with his travels. However, to keep from getting lonesome, I’ve had to get acquainted with a few hundred (100) of the local damsels.
Flying is the best there is! Don’t know why I ever wasted my time getting drunk and going to beer brawls (and school) when I could have been getting up at 5:30 every day and retiring at 9:30, also every day!
You’ll probably be able to strain something of general interest out of this to put in The Delta Pen. As you can see, we’re a wild bunch of damn fools who are having the time of our lives! Enough for now.

[Bill Lindsay, a pilot of a B-24 in the Eighth Air Force, was shot down and killed the following July in a raid over Germany. His home-town obituary is given in Appendix I.]

P-36. The Curtiss P-36 was mounted with either two or four 0.3 in. machine guns. It was in service as early as December 7, 1941.
P-40. The P-40 Curtiss Warhawk, a single-seat fighter, which was considered sturdy and adaptable. Some were equipped with a single 500 lb. bomb.

Appendix I

Reese W. Lindsay, Jr., was reported missing in the summer of 1944. It was not until September of 1945 that his death when piloting a B-24 over Germany was confirmed. Notices of his death appeared on September 5, 1945, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and on September 9, 1945, in the Cleveland Press. The following is an excerpt from the notice as it appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Lieut. Lindsay attended Western Reserve Academy and was within three months of graduation from the University of Pennsylvania when he entered service in February, 1943. He went overseas in June, 1944, and was a Flying Fortress pilot based in England with the Eighth Air Force. He met death while on his 21st mission.

Besides his parents, he is survived by a brother, Marine Pvt. Eugene Lindsay, a veteran of Pacific fighting, now in officer training at Purdue University.

Flight crews in the Eighth Air Force sustained among the heaviest casualties of any branch of service in World War II—estimated by some as high as 30 per cent. After 25 missions, flight crews were reassigned to the United States or elsewhere in the Theater. Reese Lindsay was within four missions of completing his tour of duty.

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