Loyd Douglas Lewis was born on December 13, 1920. He was the son of Dennis Ford Lewis and Hattie Isabelle Seifert Lewis. He was married to Shirley Mildred Sestak Lewis. He served in the 716th Bomber Squadron, 449th Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Flight Engineer of B-24J #42-64462 nicknamed “Stinky the B.T.O.” during World War II.

On February 22, 1944, the B-24J “Stinky the B.T.O.” joined the Regensburg mission during “Big Week.” On the return flight, the bomber was struck by flak and attacked by fighters before exploding in mid-air. It crashed near Wenigzell, Styria, Austria, resulting in the deaths of three crew members, while the remaining seven were captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war.

SSgt Lewis was captured and imprisoned at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf, near Krems, Austria. He died on August 26, 2001, and is now buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery, Three Oaks, Berrien County, Michigan, USA.

Source of information: 449th.com, aad.archives.gov, www.findagrave.com