R. J. Lloyd , U.S. Army Air Corps

The Greatest Generation is a great book. It was interesting to me because I could substitute my name in several of these accounts; the experiences were so similar to mine. Before Pearl Harbor I was working in a department store. I had just gotten married, and we had settled down to a calm life. Of course, Pearl Harbor changed all of that.

I had always wanted to fly. My wife and I decided that I should try to get into the Army Air Corps. I took the physical and mental exams and passed them both. I trained at several fields in Texas and received my wings at Eagle Pass, Texas. Transition into a C-47 transport followed at Austin, Texas.

After training I left the States and flew across the South Atlantic as a first pilot to North Africa. In the invasion of Sicily, there were 44 of our planes shot down by our own Army and Navy. We were the first replacement in the 61st Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group.

In January of 1944 we flew to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. On D-Day, June 6th, we dropped the 82nd Airborne Division in Normandy. In September of that same year we dropped the British Airborne in Holland. This is the operation told about in the book and movie "A Bridge Too Far".

I have been a member of First Baptist Church since 1938. My wife and I were married by Dr. George W. Truett in 1941. During my experiences in World War II, I relied on my faith and prayer to carry me through each day. I spent a year in England and remember a particular instance when I was visiting neighbors in the barracks. Two men saw me and knew that I was a Christian. The first man asked me who Jesus Christ was. I shared with him that He was the Son of God and had died to save me from my sins. The man looked at his friend Mac and grinned and said, "Yeah, that's right, Mac!" I later learned that Mac was an atheist. I had an opportunity to talk with Mac one-on-one at another time and told him that one of these days we are going to die. He responded by saying, "Tell me about it". His wife had already died. I do not know if Mac ever accepted Christ as his Savior.

After being overseas for 28 months, I came home on the "Queen Mary" in November, 1945. I went back to my old department store. My wife Lucille had our first child in January, 1944. We had another child in 1948, and another in 1951. I left the store and built a hardware store in Garland. After operating the store for 30 years, I sold it and had a small engine shop for 11 years. I am now completely retired and enjoy fair health for an 87 year-old.

(See an earlier story titled R J. Lloyd)

R. J. Lloyd (Deceased)
Captain
U.s. Army Air Corps
1943 (received wings, January)
1945 (returned home, fall)