Memorial Day 2004
Byron and Wayne Luce

Byron Browneller Luce

Lieutenant, USNR Service Number 208092
Byron applied and was commissioned with the rank of Ensign in the Naval Reserve on November 2, 1942 and in early December he reported for duty at the Naval Air Station in Seattle, Washington as a Communications Officer.  He was promoted to a Lieutenant, Junior Grade on January 1, 1944 and in March spent five weeks in a Seattle Navy Hospital with scarlet fever and pneumonia.

In April of 1945 he reported to the Navy Amphibious Training Base in Oceanside, California where he served as a newly appointed Lieutenant in charge of a communications group preparing for invasion base duties.

After Japan surrendered in August of 1945, he proceeded to Nagoya, Japan for duty with Port Director.  He flew to Pearl Harbor he boarded a Landing Craft Infantry Ship #641 and was in charge of two Ensigns and 21 other Navy men on the trip to Japan.   In January 1946 he departed Japan by ship for San Francisco, Ca. then on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He finished his Naval service on February 21, 1946.

Richard Galley Luce

Tech Sergeant, USAF Service number 11080028
Richard enlisted in the air force on August 1942, while attending Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.  He was called to active duty on April 19, 1943.  He attended his basic training in Miami, Florida followed by special Air Force training in Biloxi, Mississippi; Laredo, Texas; and Boise, Idaho.

Richard was sent to England in June of 1944 and was assigned to the Eighth Air Force and from there went on to Italy for duty with a B-24 bomber group.  He flew 24 missions as a flight engineer and was severely wounded by flak during a raid over Cracow, Poland September 13, 1944. He recovered from wounds at the General Hospital in Bari, Italy followed by convalescent leave in Casablanca, Morocco; Spinozza, Italy; and Cairo, Egypt.

Richard returned to the United States and was discharged from the Air Force in October 1945 in San Antonio, Texas.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with clusters, and the Purple Heart.

Wayne Smith Luce

First Lieutenant Judge Advocate General Department, AUS
Service number 02052819  Wayne, an attorney practicing law in Freedom, Pa, was inducted into the Army of the United States of America on May 4, 1945 at New Cumberland, Pa.

He was transferred with the rank of Private to the Infantry Replacement Center, Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Arkansas.  While there, he completed his basic training in the Heavy Weapons Company of the 101st Infantry Training Battalion. 

On September 18,1945 he was notified that he had been selected to attend the 15th class of the Judge Advocate General Officer Candidate School at the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Mi.  After graduation he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, JAGD, and was assigned as a Trial Attorney, Contract Appeals Branch in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.  He served there and was promoted to First Lieutenant on September 17,1946.  He was also awarded the Army Commendation Ribbon for professional skill, scholarship, and tact in the handling of litigation and legal conferences.

Wayne left the military service on December 30,1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey.