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Pierce was born about 1903, the son of Elijah Joseph Tyler and Ina Genoa Holloway. The place is not known.
He died on 26 DEC 1942 in Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.
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| Event | Date | Details | Source | Multimedia | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | ABT 1903 | ||||||
| Death | 26 DEC 1942 |
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1946_PierceT... |
1946-NorthAf... |
Note 1
Per Wadette Howell Matthews: (2018)
Uncle Elijah had 3 boys, Pierce, Dennis and I’m having a loss on other name. At beginning of WWII according to what Mother told me, Pierce had started college and was playing collegiate football and his name was called while he was on the field to leave game to go overseas for service. His plane went down at beginning of war. Body never found.
Ok the brother’s name was Owen Tyler. Bro to Pierce and Dennis. My mind had to go thru the files!
Note 2
Pierce served as a Sergeant & Ball Turret Gunner on B-17 "Birmingham Blitzkreig" (#41-24413), 414th Bomber Squadron, 97th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Arkansas prior to the war.
Pierce was declared "Missing In Action" when his B-17 was hit by enemy flak and exploded during the war. He was awarded the Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.
Service # 37102271
PLOT: Tablets of the Missing
American Air Museum in Britain: Pierce Tyler was a student at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana in 1940. After his enlistment in the Air Corps he was assigned to the 97th Bomb Group/414th Bomb Squadron and sent overseas. He was Radio Operator on board 41-24413 "Birmingham Blitzkrieg" when it was lost to Flak and exploded in mid-air on a mission to Biskra, Tunisia, 26 December 1942. He and all nine other men on board were killed. To this day, all ten are still listed as Missing In Action (MIA).
Note 3
Wadette Matthews (2023): When we were cleaning out Joe’s parents house we found a large newspaper publication about Pierce Tyler with huge picture of Pierce and was a nice article. I read it then sent it to Bill Tyler. Bill is Dennis son and nephew of Pierce. He was appreciative to get it. Mother always said Pierce was on the football field when he heard his name called for WWII. He was a student at AR Tech University in Russellville AR as I recall from what she told me.