Norbert H. Theis was born on April 9, 1928 in Wright, Kansas. He was the son of Nicholas Nick Theis and Elizabeth Agnes Vierthaler Theis. He was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas, and from there, was a member of the first troop on the first C-54 that arrived at Rhein Main Air Base to start the Berlin Airlift.
CPL Theis was a radio operator on one of the supply planes carrying airplane engines and other parts to Burtonwood Air Base in England for maintenance, when his plane, a C-54, crashed into a hillside in England on a foggy, misty day in January 1949. The crash, caused by navigation interference from a nearby radio tower, occurred 15 miles northeast of Blackpool, England. CPL Theis was killed in the crash and is buried now in the Saint Leo Catholic Cemetery, Saint Leo, Kingman County, Kansas, USA.
Crew of the C-54 #45-5543:
CPT William A. Rathgeber
PVT Ronald E. Stone
CPL Norbert H. Theis
SGT Bernard J. Watkins
1LT Lowell A. Wheaton, Jr.
1LT Richard M. Wurgel
Source of information: www.findagrave.com