41-24183

 

On 1 February 1945 a B-24D (C-87 Express Liberator), # 41-24183, assigned to 10th Air Force, 1330th AAF Base Unit, departed the airfield at Hsinching, China, on a return from a cargo mission to Jorhat, India, through the Himalayan mountain range (the Hump). It crashed in China. The crew was:

                                           Pilot                             2ndLt Delton D. Shilling                     0-670447

                                           Co-Pilot                       1stLt Charles H. Henley Jr.                  0-670905

                                           Crew Chief                  TSgt William M. Costell                      6978434

                                           Radio Operator            PFC Charles O. Hedges Jr.                  17159249

The next-of-kin were listed as:

                                   Shilling            Juanita Muriel Shilling, W, c/o John Davis, 22 S. Nogales, Tulsa, OK

                                   Henley             Ruby M. Henley, W, 2733 Louise Ave., Knoxville, TN

                                   Hedges            Charles O. Hedges, F, Rte 2, Stockton, MO

                                   Costell             Rose M. Costell, M, Wildwood Villa, NJ

SHILLING, DELTON DIXON, First Lieutenant, # 0-670447, USAAF

 

Delton D. Shilling was born on 5 December 1920 in Ardmore, Carter Co., Oklahoma, to Delton Dewitt Shilling (1900-1978) (OK) and Mary (Dixon) Shilling (1903-1985) (OK). He had a brother. In 1920 Delton D. Shilling, age 25, was living with the Dixon family in Ardmore, OK: Henry J. Dixon (1866-     ) (TX) and Cora E. Dixon (1879-    ) (TX), and Richard M. Taylor, Dixon step-son (1904-    ), Henry J. Dixon (1907-    ), Lois N. Dixon (1909-    ), Minnie E. Dixon (1910-    ), M. Noble Dixon (1912-    ), Andrew J. Dixon (1914-    ), Cora Lee Dixon (1915-    ), John M. Dixon (1918-    ), and Mary Dixon (1894-    ). He graduated from Ardmore High School in 1939 and Bethany Peniel College in 1942. He married Juanita Muriel Davis on 14 January 1943 in Edinburg, Hidalgo Co., Texas, by Chaplain/Captain Kermit T. Melugin.

 

He registered for the WWII draft on 16 February 1942, resided in Henrietta, Clay Co., Texas, and described himself as 5’ 7 ½”, 145 lbs, with blond hair and blue eyes. He enlisted in the USAAF in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on 19 March 1942. He completed pilot training and earned his commission and pilot wings. He was sent overseas to India. On 1 February 1945 a B-24D (C-87 Express Liberator), # 41-24183, assigned to 10th Air Force, 1330th AAF Base Unit, departed the airfield at Hsinching, China, on a return from a cargo mission to Jorhat, India, through the Himalayan mountain range (the Hump). It crashed in China. He is remembered on the tablets of the missing in the Manila American Cemetery & Memorial, Philippines. A memorial marker was placed in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Ardmore, Carter Co., Oklahoma. He was awarded the Air Medal.