Army Sgt. Kenneth De Witt LaRoche
Lower Brule, Lyman
County, South Dakota
Killed
while on a training flight
near Aledo, Texas
Kenneth LaRoche was born to Carrie H. DeWitt and John LaRoche February 8, 1916 in Fort George, Stanley County, South Dakota. He attended grade school.
He was
inducted into active military service August
5,1941 at Fort Crook,
Nebraska. Then he was actively
discharged as private August
8, 1941, to enlist in the regular
army, where he was in the Army
Air Corp. While in the regular army,
he was in active service from December 7, 1941, until his death on November 3, 1943.
Along with
other flyers, Kenneth, an
aerial engineer, was killed
in the crash of a four-engine bomber
returning to the Fort Worth army air field from a midnight training flight. At the time
of his death he
was serving as a staff sergeant
for the 1018th Pilot Transition
Training Squadron.
Kenneth's death occurred in the line or duty and was not a result
of his own misconduct.
This
entry was respectfully submitted
by Niki Henriksen and Randi
Diehm, Lyman High School,
Presho, South Dakota, February 25, 2002.
Information was provided by
a newspaper article from the Lead
Daily Call
and from Kenneth's bonus record.