Thomas Neill entered the military service in California. He served in the 563rd Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a tail gunner of #42-97241 "The Expectant Father" aircraft during World War II. A member of the Ely crew, he was killed when their plane crashed on April 11, 1914. The crew departed on 11 April 1944 on a mission to Pozen - it was their first mission. The aircraft was brand new and was all silver and the only one in the squadron that day. They were the #3 position in the lead element lead squadron 45th Combat Group. Cloud cover was over the primary target so the flight went to Rostock as a secondary target. After bombs away the aircraft was attacked by a line abreast formation of 4 FW-190's and the radio compartment exploded and caught fire. The fire spread quickly to consume everything to the rear of the flight deck, and some of the crew bailed out. Several of the crew stayed with the plane until it crashed on the Baltic coast near a small town. The men who bailed out landed in the water and drowned, one of them was Constantine G. Scourbys. The officers stayed with the plane and crash-landed near Rerik/Mecklenburg which was 80% damaged.

Sgt Neil was declared Missing in Action. His name is commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands. He was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, www.fieldsofhonor-database.com
Photo from: http://388bg.com