“Funeral services for First Lieutenant Beverly Welford Izlar will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the National Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tenn. Lieutenant Izlar , the son of the late Sydney O. Izlar and Mrs. Mildred Izlar of Hot Springs, N.C., was killed in a plane wreck while on a routine flight in England on July 24, 1945. He was also survived by sister, Mary Lee Izlar. He went into the Army on January 15, 1941, at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia receiving overseas assignment in June 1944. Before entering the service, Lieutenant Izlar was an employee of Sterchi Brothers store here. He was a Navigator with the 32nd Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group.

“Lieutenant Izlar had received the Presidential unit citation for the invasion of Normandy with two bronze stars added for the invasion of Germany and for the evacuation of wounded soldiers from Holland. He was stationed in France at the time of his death.”
-Adapted from the August 14, 1948 Kingsport News, Kingsport, Tennessee

On a memorial plaque at Jame’s Thorn, Dark Peak in Charlesworth, Derbyshire, United Kingdom:
“Nearby on the Moor Below Lie the Remains of a C47 Skytrain 2108982 which crashed on the 24th July 1945 with the loss of all on board.
Ist Lt. G.L. Johnson USAAF
1lt E.W.Burns USAAF
1st Lt. B.W. Izlar USAAF
Sgt. T.R. McCrocklin USAAF
Sgt F.M. Maloney USAAF
Cprl. G.R. Alexander USAAF
LAC J.D. Main RAF

In Memory They Are Not Forgotten.

“The C-47 took off on July 24th 1945 on a routine supply trip from Leicester East to Renfrew in Scotland. The pilot, First Lieutenant George L. Johnson, had been warned of bad weather along the flight path up central England. So he decided to take the more direct route and risk the high ground. The rest of the five man crew consisted of co-pilot, First Lieutenant Earl W. Burns, navigator, First Lieutenant Beverly W. Izlar, crew chief, Sergeant Theodore R. McCrocklin and the radio operator, Sergeant Francis M. Maloney. There were two passengers, Corporal Grover R. Alexander, USAAF and RAF Leading Aircraftsman J. D. Main.

The crash was found two days later at 5 oclock in the afternoon when Sergeant Pridgeon, an RAF cypher clerk, and his girl friend came upon the wreckage of a Skytrain whilst out walking. He knew of the Lancaster bomber that had crashed at some point on the mountaintop they were on, just nine weeks earlier, and he thought that he had come across the scene of the Lancaster bomber wreck. It was only when he came upon the dead bodies of the crew that he realized that he had come across a new crash scene. It appears that the Skytrain hit the high ground, when the hills were shrouded in low cloud as they so often are.”

  • Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Date of birth:
  • 9 February 1914
  • Date of death: 24 July 1945
  • County: Sullivan
  • Hometown: Kingsport
  • Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
  • Division/Assignment: 314th Troop Carrier Group, 32nd Troop Carrier Squadron
  • Theater: Europe
  • Conflict: World War II
  • Burial/Memorial Location: Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN
  • Location In Memorial: Pillar XVIII, Middle Panel
  • Contact us to sponsor Beverly W. Izlar

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