Merle John Thies was born at Alliance Township, Moody County, South Dakota, on April 1, 1916. He was the third of four children of William Henry Thies (17 Jun 1884 – 10 Oct 1963), who was born at Sweet Township, Pipestone County, Minnesota; and Dorathea Elisabeth 'Dora' (Bauer) Thies (1891 – 1961), who was born in Nebraska. His siblings were Lawrence William Thies (6 Jan 1911 – 13 Apr 1994), Dwight Wesley Thies (1913 – 19 Sep 1957), and a sister, Ardyce Dorothea Thies (abt Nov 1919 – unk). He worked on his father's farm in Alliance Township, Moody County, South Dakota, and graduated from nearby Pipestone High School, Minnesota in 1936. He then farmed with his father until he entered the service. He married Pearl Rislov on August 8, 1941. They had a son, Merlin Paul Thies, who was born on July 28, 1944.

He entered active service at Camp Riley, Kansas, on October 7, 1942, and was eventually selected for Army Air Forces pilot training in Class 43-J. In October 1943, he completed the final phase—advanced training in the twin-engine Beechcraft AT-10—at Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour, Indiana. He graduated and received his wings and commission at Freeman Field on November 3, 1943. His next stop was the Army Air Base at Camp Kearns near Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was assigned as copilot on the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Joseph S. Van Dyke. In December 1943 the Van Dyke crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944, the Van Dyke crew was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 41-28822 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

Lt Thies and his eight crewmates were killed in action on June 23, 1944, when their aircraft, B-24H 41-28822, was shot down near Brussels, Belgium after bombing an airfield at Juvincourt, France. The aircraft was hit by flak in the open bomb bay and exploded in the air. It fell in pieces in an open area called Parc du Scheutbos (Scheutbospark), between Rue Paloke (Palokestraat) and Boulevard Louis Mettewie (Louis Mettewielaan), in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek), a western suburb of Brussels, Belgium.

Lt Thies died one month before his son was born. He was buried initially at Evere Cemetery in Brussels, Belgium. After the war, his remains were reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Belgium.

B-24H 41-28822 crew:
• Van Dyke, Joseph S – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Thies, Merle J – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Zebora, Rudolph J – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Kraus, Leslie E – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Glenn, James R – Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Crossley, Charles H – S/Sgt – Top Turret – KIA
• Spindler, William H – Sgt – Tail Turret – KIA
• Rupe, Bradford A – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Snead, John E – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com