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Body of Utah WWII airman Max W. Lower returns home

Salt Lake Tribune | November 22, 2019

Related Topics: radio operator, B-24 Liberator, Royal Air Force, W. Lower, Utah, World War II

The body of World War II airman Max W. Lower arrived back in Utah on Thursday, 77 years after he was deployed overseas.

Lower, a radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber, was killed when the plane was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania. The Lewiston native was 23.

The Air National Honor Guard carried his remains — placed inside a flag-draped coffin — from the plane, as Lower’s family watched.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) l-r Sam Lower and his sister Helen Lower Simmons watch as the plane carrying the remains of their brother, Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower who was killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Lower family watches as the remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Loweru00d5s siblings, Helen Lower Simmons and Sam Lower, center, are surrounded by family. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sam Lower and his sister Helen Lower Simmons watch as the remains of their brother, Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Lower family watches as the plane carrying the remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Lower family watches as the plane carrying the remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Lower family waits for the plane carrying the remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II to arrive at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Air National Guard Honor Guard readies for the plane carrying the remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II to arrive at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) The remains of Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. Max. W. Lower, 23, of Lewiston, Utah, killed during World War II arrives at Salt Lake International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. Lower was the radio operator on a B-24 Liberator bomber nicknamed u00d2Old Baldyu00d3 that was shot down Aug. 1, 1943, over Ploiesti, Romania duringu00caOperation Tidal Wave. Lower's plane was one of 177 bombers based in Italy and Libya that flew the mission; 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen were lost.

Lower and his fellow airmen were on the war’s largest bombing mission to destroy oil fields and refineries there that supplied the Nazis’ war effort.

See full article at Salt Lake Tribune