Melvin J. Gardner, Staff Sergeant
Engineer-Gunner Crew 11
Graduated from High School and enlisted in the service at Fort Bliss, Texas on October 5, 1939. Attended Airplane Mechanic's Course at Chanute Field, Illinois. Assigned to 34th Bomb Squadron at march Field, California. Remained in China-Burma-India Theater after Tokyo Raid. Was killed in action on June 2, 1942 while en route to Kunming, China after bombing mission on Lashio, Burma. Decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart (posthumous) and Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade.
Born April 6, 1920, Mesa, Arizona
Killed in action, June 3, 1942
Sergeant Gardner remained in the Indo-China theater and was KIA returning from a bombing mission on June 2, 1942.
MIA enroute to Kunming, China
Tablets of the Missing
Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
His family has placed a headstone beside his parents’ graves at
Reed Hatch Memorial Cemetery, Taylor, AZ
