Major Earl L. Abbott

Major Earl L. Abbott

Major Earl Abbott was born January 8, 1919 in Springboro, Pennsylvania.  Later his family bought a farm and settled in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania.  Earl graduated from Harborcreek High School in May 1936.  He then attended California State College.  He studied to be a shop teacher.

 

When War World Two broke out, Earl enlisted in the Army Air Force.  He graduated from Randolph Field in Texas on April 11, 1943.  From Texas, Earl transferred to an Air Force base in Connecticut for more training.  While training in Connecticut, Earl was hospitalized with meningitis.  While in the hospital, he met an Army nurse named Florence Delucas.  They would later marry in June 1944.

 

From the Air Force base in Connecticut, Earl was transferred to Bodney, England in July 1943 with the 352nd Group, Thunder Bolt Fighter Pilot.  Major Abbott loved flying and flew over a hundred successful missions.

 

On January 24, 1945, Major Abbott piloted a P51 (Mustang) fighter plane on a fighter sweep mission from Asch, Belgium to Germany.  He was last seen by the pilot of another plane at 2:15 pm northeast of Aachen, Germany in pursuit of an enemy aircraft.  His plane appeared to be under controls at that time.  That was the last time anyone saw Major Abbott and his plane.  He was the only one of his group who did not return from the sweep. 

 

Major Earl Abbott was awarded fifteen medals including a Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses and a Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, nine Air Medals, and a Purple Heart posthumous.  Years later, remains of a plane were found near the site where Major Abbott was last seen.  It has not yet been determined if the plane that was found is the same one that was flown by Major Abbott on that fateful day in January 1945.  Major Earl Abbott is still classified as World War II Missing in Action.  His sister in law Shirley Abbott still holds out hope that his remains will someday be found.  She has spent many years and countless hours researching old military records in her quest to put Major Earl Abbott to rest.