By Lesley Topping

Lt. Robert Lawrence Reese
January 16, 1921 – July 5, 1944

Captain Gomer David Reese III
July 24, 1942- March 24, 1970

It is easy to miss the sunken war memorial in Scarsdale Village partially hidden from view in Boniface Circle. It is a quiet place to reflect on the long list of names of Scarsdale residents who served and died during World War II. As time goes on, it is harder to put faces to the names, but the Scarsdale Historical Society recently received an inquiry that shines a light on a young pilot, Lt. Robert Lawrence Reese, and his family. His name is engraved on the memorial along with his brothers, Arthur and Gomer Reese Jr. Another young family member and Scarsdale resident, Captain Gomer David Reese, III served and died in Vietnam.

From across continents, Andy Wells recently contacted the Society because he is gathering information to erect a monument and exhibition in his hometown in memory of Lt. Robert Reese and eight other American pilots who died when two of their planes crashed on his family’s farm in Foxley, England on July 5th, 1944.

The men were part of the 392nd Bomb Group, a B-24 Liberator group that operated out of Wendling, England flying strategic bombing campaigns against enemy targets in occupied Europe and Germany. Lt. Reese had flown combat missions in Europe, including the allied invasion on D-day. He was killed when his plane collided with another Air Force bomber during a practice session in formation flying.

Andy Wells’ mother, Margaret Wells, now in her nineties, was picking strawberries on a nearby farm when she witnessed the crash. “My mum told me it was a lovely sunny morning about 11 o’clock,” recalled Andy, “She said the sun actually shone on the planes because they were silver in color and they looked really pretty. That is why they were looking up in the sky, then suddenly the plane underneath just went upward into the belly of Robert’s plane and they both came down.”

Andy Wells was born after the war, but the events of the crash made a strong impression on him. For years afterwards family members found pieces of the wreckage as well as live machine gun bullets in the fields.“It was always folklore in the family,” said Wells “and interested me as a kid, and I started researching it more and more over the years.” Fascinated by local history and events, Wells has compiled extensive information about the 392nd Group and contacted family members of the men who lost their lives in the crash.

“Foxley is only a small village of less than 500 people, and probably only my mum knows anything about it now,” said Wells. “I think it has got to be remembered and that is why I am trying to do what I am trying to do.”

The 392nd Group had heavy casualties. 747 men from the 392nd Bomb Group lost their lives helping to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. A memorial was erected in 1945 to honor those men at the Wendling Base. Lt. Robert Reese was only 24 years old when he died. He had attended Ohio University and worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company before he enrolled in the military. His mother, Mrs. Alfield Reese, and siblings lived on Nelson Road in Scarsdale. A few articles in the Scarsdale Inquirer reported that Robert and his brother Gomer enjoyed singing and performed in the choirs of local plays in Scarsdale and White Plains.

Lt. Reese was posthumously awarded the Air Medal for his distinguished air missions over Europe in October 1944. During the war he was interred at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England, and in 1948 he was buried with honors by the Scarsdale Post No. 52 American Legion at Mount Hope Cemetery in Hastings.

Robert’s surviving brothers, Arthur and Gomer Jr., both served in the army. Gomer Jr. was wounded when an artillery shell exploded near his back and legs while in combat against German troops in Elmdorf, Germany. He later became an executive with the Scarsdale Bank and president of the Rotary Club.

Gomer Jr.’s son, Captain Gomer David Reese III, like his Uncle Robert, became a pilot, joining the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He was a Scarsdale High School graduate who lived in Edgewood. Highly regarded for his flying skills, he was assigned to a classified secret bombing operation in Laos. On April 24, 1970, the plane he was co-piloting with Captain James E. Cross on an orientation tour was shot down by an anti-aircraft gun. His remains could not be returned to the United States and identified until 2009.

The daily war coverage of the Vietnam War was dramatically different than supportive news reporting during World War II. The death notice of Captain Reese shared the front page with an article reporting that Scarsdale High School Students were joining in the nationwide protest against the Vietnam War and a vigil for the students at Kent State University who were shot and killed by National Guards during a peaceful anti-war demonstration.

Captain Reese is buried at National Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC and his name can be found on Panel 11W, Line 47 of the Vietnam War Memorial. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with an Oak Leaf Cluster for heroism and extraordinary achievement while engaged in aerial flight.

The Scarsdale American Legion Post 52 Memorial Garden on Mamaroneck Road next to the Scarsdale Pool will also be covered with flags and flowers on Memorial Day to honor the many residents of Scarsdale who served our country.

Below are the front pages of the issues of the Scarsdale Inquirer announcing the deaths of Lt. Robert Lawrence Reese and Captain Gomer David Reese III.

If any reader has additional information about Lt. Robert Reese that would be helpful for Andy Wells’ research, please contact us.