This is researched material George Toriello sent me on Keith W. Wythes on November 27, 2017. From the Source; <WWI WWII and Korean War Casualty listings> Keith W. Wythes was born in 1916 and enlisted into the Army Air Force on April 25, 1941. He served with the United States Army Air Force 67th Fighter Squadron 347th Fighter Group and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
According to information obtained from the <Army Air Corps Library and Museum> from 1944 until deactivation, January 1946 the 347th. Fighter Group flew P~38 aircraft. A.K.A. P-38 ‘Lightning' 347th. Fighter Group moved to New Guinea in Aug 1944. Equipped completely with P-38's. Escorted bombers to oil refineries on Borneo; bombed and strafed airfields and installations on Ceram, Amboina, Boeroe, Celebes, and Halmahera. Received a DUC for a series of long-range bombing and strafing raids, conducted through intense flak and fighter defense, on the airfield and shipping at Makassar, Celebes, in Nov 1944. Moved to the Philippines in Feb 1945. Supported landings on Mindanao in March 1945: bombed and strafed enemy installations and supported Australian forces on Borneo, attacked Japanese positions in northern Luzon, and flew escort missions to the Asiatic mainland. Moved to the US in *December 1945. Inactivated on January 1, 1946. *Wythes died in service on December 9, 1945 just before the group moved to the U.S.
Keith W. Wythes is listed on the Original Wall Unit with a Gold Star next to his name and the 1946 Hackensack High School Yearbook Dedication page.
Let us never forget his sacrifice.
Click here to view National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Tablets/Courts of the Missing, Honolulu, Hawaii
Written by:
Bob Meli
July 10, 2018
