However, researcher and CBS Correspondent Fred Goerner was interviewing former World War II Marines, it was determined that Powell died from bad homemade sake while celebrating a victory. Pvt. After graduating high school, Hutchins joined the US Army in 1943 and enrolled in the Aviation Cadet Program. However, when World War II began, Holmes and his brother Ralph enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 before the United States entered the war. Only a week before graduation, Hutchins was killed in a midair collision on May 17, 1945. I appreciate that, I knew I had forgotten someone I recently looked up and I think it was him (while watching Nurse Edith Cavell)! I will have to add him to the list! He received his commission as a first lieutenant and was assigned to the 582nd Bomb Squadron for training at McCook Army Air Field in near North Platte, Nebraska. Miller was 40 years old. Lombard was 33 years old. In honor of Memorial Day, I would like to highlight those who were killed during World War II, whether it be on the battlefield, in training camp, helping with the war effort, or surrounded by mysterious circumstances. Woods was a feature film director with 26 credits to his name. He was killed in action during World War II while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Though it has never been confirmed, some have speculated that the Germans thought Winston Churchill was onboard, which Churchill himself believed as the reason for the flight being shot down. Joe was the first born son of a well-to-do family in Massachusetts. World War II: General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. World War II: First Lieutenant Audie Murphy, Cold War: General Curtis LeMay, Father of the Strategic Air Command, World War II: Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris, World War II: North American B-25 Mitchell, Women and the Military During World War II, World War II: Colonel General Heinz Guderian, Free Military Cemetery and Casualty Databases Online, Profile of General George Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff in WWII, Directorate of Information, Operations and Reports. In honor of Memorial Day, I would like to highlight those who were killed during World War II, whether it be on the battlefield, in training camp, helping with the war effort, or surrounded by mysterious circumstances. The British government asked Howard to make broadcasts to the then-neutral United States to change their minds and join the war effort. I will work to add him to the list today. Some of his filmography includes An American Tragedy (1931), Dinner at Eight (1933) and Great Expectations. However, a 2014 Chicago Tribune article, says a defective carburetor in the plane caused the crash. In 1938, Holmes decided to turn his attention to the stage. It was reported that Tannenbaum did bailout but slipped out of his parachute. Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com, Jimmy Butler, a brilliant child actor, died in France. It was originally thought that Powell was killed in action. On July 23, 1944, Kennedy was to bail out of a plane full of explosives but the explosives detonated before he and his co-pilot could bail out; their bodies were never recovered. American actor who had early success as a sunny juvenile, but whose career declined following World War II, in which he was a highly-decorated hero. Holmes was 33 years old. Wonderful!! Upshur, Paddock, and four other crewmen were killed in the crash. After he became a Major in the Army Air Force he took his 50-piece Army Air Force Band in the first tour across England. some of these people were actors who enlisted, while others were taking part in the war effort: Phillips Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) Phillips Holmes was an American actor who starred in 48 films from 1928 to 1938, though the bulk of his films were made in the 1930s. He was offered overnight lodgings but decided to return home to London. In January 1945, he died while trying to search for two men from his unit who had not returned from scouting enemy lines in the Vosges Mountains of France. Howard’s civilian flight, Flight 777 of the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay, killing all 17 passengers on board. Naval Reserve on June 24, 1941. But eventually, he convinced them to ease their size limitations and he was inducted in December of 1943. Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942): Though actress Carole Lombard was a civilian, she is considered the first American woman killed in World War II. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), For the fallen: Performers and Artists killed during World War II, Follow Comet Over Hollywood on WordPress.com, Musical Monday: “Best Foot Forward” (1943), Musical Monday: So This is College (1929).