Darr H. Alkire Military person
Brigadier General Darr Hayes Alkire was a pilot of the United States Army Air Corps in 1932, the United States Army Air Forces (1941), and the United States Air Force (1947); and was the first commander of the World War II 100th Bombardment Group. After his 19th B-24 Liberator mission, when the Lurchin Urchin (41-29223) crashed near Cervia, he was a POW commander until April 4, 1945; then marched to Stalag Luft III where on April 27 he was the West Compound commander until liberated.Alkire crashed Douglas BT-2C #31-445 at Yorktown, Texas, on April 11, 1932, and was piloting the "Maui Maid" (41-28623, named for his 2nd wife) which was the first 449th Bombardment Group B-24 to land in Italy [1] (at Grottaglie Airfield). The Maui Maid was scrapped for parts after a different crew struck an embankment. In 1958, Alkire appeared on television in 1958 regarding the "Rocket Age."
Personal facts
| Birth date | December 31, 1903 |
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| Date of death | July 22, 1977 |
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Military person
| allegiance | United States of America |
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| award | |
| military operations | |
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| military command | 1937: 96th Bomb Squadron 1942: 100th Bombardment Group 1942: Second Bombardment Group 1943: 449th Bombardment Group 1954: 3101st Logistics Control Group 1954: Newark Transportation Control Depot |
| service start | 1924 |
| service end | 1956 |