DAVID D. LAIRD, FLT LT, RCAF

David Laird '42

Date of birth: September 20, 1919

Date of death: July 26, 1944

Age: 24

Naval Academy Register

David Drexel Laird was admitted to the Naval Academy from New York on June 23, 1938 at age 18 years 9 months. He resigned on June 1, 1940 because he was "deficient in studies, second term’s work. Recommended to be dropped. Permitted to resign."

Photographs

Loss

David was killed in action on July 26, 1944 when the Martin 187 Baltimore light attack bomber he was piloting crashed near Firenzuola, Italy while on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission.

Other Information

From WWII Talk:

AWM 237 (65) NAA : A705, 166/43/787 Commonwealth War Graves records
Aircraft Type: Baltimore
Serial number: FW 317
Unit: ATTD 13 SQN RAF
Summary: Baltimore FW317 took off from Cessina airfield at 2215 hours on 26 July 1944 to carry out an armed recce in the Florence/Bologna area. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it failed to return to base. Two other aircraft from the Squadron on the same mission reported seeing an aircraft crash at 2318 hours on 26/7/44 in the Pontassieve area. The weather was fine with a moonlight night, no cloud and good visibility.
Crew:
RCAF Flt Lt Laird, D D Captain (Pilot) †
RAF FO McCarter, J P (Navigator Bomb Aimer) †
RNZAF WO J Finlow, (Wireless Operator Air) †
RAAF 405987 WO F W West, (Wireless Operator Air) †
No 5 Missing Research & Enquiry Unit reported in 1947 that "the wreck of FW317 was located near Firenzuola, and according to a farmer on whose land the aircraft crashed the crew of four were killed." They are buried in the Beachhead War Cemetery, Anzio, Italy. Anzio is a coastal town 70kms south of Rome.
In Memory of Flight Lieutenant David Drenel Laird
J/21258, 13 (R.A.F.) Sqdn, Royal Canadian Air Force who died on 26 July 1944
F/Lt David Drenel Laird was born in Johnson, Iowa 20 September 1919. He was the son of Donald A. and Hilda D. Laird. At the time of enlistment he had been working as a radio repairman in Baltimore, Md. He roomed at the home of a former neighbour from Iowa, hence the Baltimore connection in RCAF Casualty Lists.

From the Canadian archives:

Surname: LAIRD
Given Name(s): DAVID DRENEL
Date of Birth: 20 Sep 1919
Date of Death: 26 Jul 1944
Rank: Flight Lieutenant
Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force
Service Number: J21258
Reference: RG 24
Volume: 27933
Item Number: 19313

Though he was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was serving with a Royal Air Force squadron when he was lost.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

His father Donald was an eminent psychology professor [at Colgate] in the 1930 census, and they lived right across from the field. His mother's name was Hilda. They are both buried in the cemetery as well. His father wrote books and articles, and there's a video to watch that shows him talking, Let Yourself Go, 1940.

He is buried in Italy and has a memory marker at Colgate University, New York. He was survived by his father and grandmother.

Wartime Experience

From the Hartford Courant on March 31, 1944:

High-Soaring Duck Flock Grounds RAF Flyer From Middle Haddam
East Hampton, March 30. (Special.)—-Flying Officer David Drexel Laird, son of Dr. and Mrs. Donald A. Laird of Middle Haddam, has flown his Royal Air Force plane on the European and North African battlefronts, but it remained for four ducks to force his plane down for the first time.
Writing to his father, noted psychologist, he described the incident, which occurred on February 12, as follows:
"This morning, on a low-level attack, I flew into some ducks, four to be exact. One knocked out one side of the windshield, and also the window between my compartment and the radio operator's; it missed my head by half an inch. It spattered blood and gizzards from one end of the kite to the other, and we'll likely smell it for a long time. No one got a scratch, but it certainly looked bad when we landed, with blood all over. Another duck went into an engine, and bent a lot of things. And another hit the main wing and made a hole a foot across. I could still fly the plane on one motor, and landed without too much difficulty despite the gaping hole in the wing. It will be a couple of weeks before the ship is ready to fly again, our poor new ship of which we were so proud, and to imagine that duck would ground us!"
Flying Officer Laird enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force before the United States entered the war and is now serving with the RAF in the Middle East.