Major Norman J. Lewellyn
U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) B-17 passebger Killed In Action April 2, 1942

Background
Norman J. Lewellyn was born June 10, 1906 to mother Ernest and Mabel (Jett) Lewellyn in Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Wartime History
During 1942, Major Norman J. Lewellyn was a non-flying senior aide to Major General Lewis H. Brereton. On December 24, 1941 during the night, he departed the Philippines with Brereton as a passengers aboard a U.S. Navy PBY Catalina that flew south to Surabaya on Java landing on December 25, 1941. On February 23, 1942 departed with Brereton to take command of the command of the 10th Air Force (10th AF) in India.

Mission History
On April 2, 1942 in the early evening took off from Asansol Airfield in India as a passenger aboard B-17E Flying Fortress on a bombing mission against warehouses and docks at Rangoon in Burma. During the take off, this B-17 slipped off the runway, possibly because the crew forgot to unlock the controls. Trying to avoid a stump on the right side of the runway, Parsel pull up sharply and the nose and landing gear lifted off the ground but the tail impacted the stump, tearing off one of the tail elevators. The bomber climbed to roughly 100', then rolled over and crashed into a gully near the runway. The entire crew was killed in the crash. Luckily, the bomb load did not detonate.

Recovery of Remains
After the crash, the remains of the crew were recovered and buried. Postwar, their remains were exhumed and transported to the United States for permanent burial.

Memorials
Lewellyn was officially declared dead the day of the mission. On September 20, 1951 buried in a group burial at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery at plot F graves 271-272.

References
Diary of Major General Brereton, references to Lewellyn
FindAGrave - MAJ Norman Jett Lewellyn (group burial photo)

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