Earl Burton Highbaugh (1922 - 1944)

Born 13 May 1922 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Died 2 Dec 1944 at age 22 in Italy

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Biography

2 lt Earl Highbaugh was Killed in Action during World War II.

Earl Highbaugh is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army Air Force 302nd Fighter Squadron 1943-1944
Tuskegee Airman flying Ace

Earl was born in 1922. He was the son of Richard Highbaugh and Margrave Brown.^[1] He grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in 1940. He was enrolled at the Hampden-Sidney Institute in Virginia prior to entering the service in March of 1943.^[2]

Earl trained at the Tuskegee Army Airfield, earning his wings on May 23, 1944. He was assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Italy. On Dec 9, 1944, he was on a training mission over Caserta when his plane collided with a fellow Tuskegee airman, FO James C Ramsey. Both man were killed in the collision. Earl was buried in a temporary cemetery overseas. His body was returned home in December 1948 when services were held in Indianapolis and he was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.

Earl's brother, Richard, was also a Tuskegee airman, but his service was confined to the United States.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4YJ-9JR : accessed 12 April 2021), Burton Highbaugh in household of Emily Beeler, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 142, sheet 41A, line 36, family 682, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 613; FHL microfilm 2,340,348.
2. ↑ The Indianapolis Star, 17 Dec 1948, pg. 28

• "United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1949", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZQ-9FC1 : 8 March 2021), Earl Burton Highbaugh, .