November 11, 2014

Veterans Day Tribute to Sgt. Wallace O. Cloy


Wallace O. Cloy was born in Franklin County, Mississippi in 1919.

He was the sixth of ten children born to the marriage of Richard Harris Cloy and Pinkie Paralee Bowman.  His siblings were Mary Nellie [Hair], Richard Frank, John Edward, Anna [Furr], Jerald Hudson, Charles Clay, Barnie Lee [Stubbs], Jarvis Roan and William "Billy" Cloy.

In the mid-1920s the Cloy family moved from Franklin County, Mississippi to Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.  Their home was located on Highway 15, north of Sicily Island.

The 1940 U.S. census record shows Wallace Cloy as twenty-one years old and living with his parents in Sicily Island.  His employment is listed as service station operator.

On August 16, 1940, Wallace O. Cloy enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps as a private.  His Term of Enlistment is shown as the Philippine Department.


Following basic training, Cloy was assigned to the 13th Bomber Squadron, 3rd Bomber Group. The squadron was based in Charters Towers, Australia during World War II.

On December 31, 1942, Sgt. Wallace Cloy was part of an eleven man crew on board a USAAF B25-D-NC Mitchell returning to Charters Towers from Port Moresby.

B25-D Mitchell Bomber
The bomber never arrived in Charters Towers and was believed to have gone down in the Coral Sea when the pilot flew into a violent downdraft of a large thunderstorm.


Sgt. Wallace O. Cloy was listed as Missing in Action as of December 31, 1942.


His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery located in Manila, Philippines.

Tablets of the Missing - Manila American Cemetery

Tablets of the Missing - Manila American Cemetery

Tablets of the Missing - Manila American Cemetery

Sources:

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