2LT Millard Fillmore Arnett, Jr.


Remembering 2LT Millard Fillmore Arnett, Jr. (Fairmont)

March 10, 1922 - August 3, 1944

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2LT Millard Fillmore Arnett, Jr. was born in Fairmont on March 10, 1922. the son of Millard and Gladys (Shroyer) Arnett. When Millard, Jr. was born, his family lived at 1116 Carlton Street, and Millard Sr. was a tailor (1920 census), but by 1930 had moved to Barrackville, where they lived with Millard, Sr's father (1930 census).

According to the 1940 Census, the family moved to 1016 Lowell Avenue by at least 1935, where both Millards and Millard's brother, William, worked at Monelity Machines. In 1943, Millard married Caroline Wells Snider.

Military Service:

Millard entered the draft on June 30, 1942. At the time, he lived at 801 Short Avenue and worked for his father. He was 5'8" and 140 lbs, with brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin.

According to his Honoree Plaque through the American Battle Monuments Commission, Millard was a P-47 Thunderbolt Pilot. 

Unfortunately, 2LT Millard Fillmore Arnett, Jr, was killed in a plane crash on August 3, 1944 while en route to advanced flight training, alongside 23 other P-47 pilots and 4 crew members.

Description of the Plane Crash:

"The crash at Naper, Nebraska, is believed to be the worst accident during WWII in terms of loss of life (28 airmen) from one single aircraft in the United States. A flight crew of four (4) in a C-47A (42-23652) were transporting twenty-four (24) rated P-47 pilots from the Bruning Army Air Field to the Pierre (South Dakota) Army Air Field for advanced training. 

Near the small town of Naper the plane encountered a thunderstorm and apparently flew into it or tried to get above it. Witnesses on the ground said that a simultaneous flash of lightning coincided with them hearing the motors of the plane stop at approximately 8:30 p.m. The plane was then seen coming down out of the clouds and out of control. The plane crashed in a ravine in a pasture instantly killing all 28 aboard. Investigation into the accident determined that wreckage had been scattered across an area two hundred yards wide by one mile long leading up to the actual site of the impact. 

The exact cause of the crash was never fully determined and several possibilities existed as to why the C-47 crashed." (NebraskaAirCrash.com)

Survivors and Legacy:

Millard was survived by his parents, Millard and Gladys, his wife Caroline, and his brother William. Caroline remarried on December 17, 1945, and lived out the rest of her dies in Indiana before dying in 1986 at age 61 of cancer. Millard's brother, CPL William Waitman Arnett, served in the Army during WWII.

2LT Millard Fillmore Arnett, Jr is honored at the West Virginia State Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV, as well as the Naper 28 Memorial in Nebraska.

Sources and More Information:


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