Berry Chandler was born on January 2, 1921 in Texas. He was the son of Francis Paxton Chandler and Ruth Berry Chandler. He enlisted on August 16, 1941 from Houston, Texas. He served in the Headquarters, 362nd Fighter Group as a Major during World War II. Major Chandler was transferred to the 379th from the 31st FG, where had flown Spitfires, to take over as Commanding Officer. Major Berry Chandler, the recently appointed deputy CO of the Group, was hit while flying P-47D-26-RE 42-26545. “Flying number three position in the cover flight, I observed Red Leader and flight make their bomb run on a woods,” said Lt. Jack Taylor. “I saw Red Leader’s napalm bomb go off, but I did not notice his 500-pound G.P. bombs explode.” Flak hit Chandler’s Thunderbolt; before he crashed, he was heard to say over the radio, “I’m hit and going in – give ‘em hell!” The plane hit the ground a slight angle; Taylor “noticed a streak of fire about three or four miles from the target, which I at first thought to be someone else’s bombs.” Upon Chandler’s death, Col. Jack Bradley, a former CO of the 354th Fighter Group, was named group deputy CO. Major Chandler is now buried in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Hombourg, Belgium.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, Thunderbolts Triumphant, The 362nd Fighter Group vs Germany's Wehrmacht