Robert Till's sister, Jean Alpin, 78, was 11 at the time he was killed. When she was notified of his body's identification, she searched for and found Lee in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She said "Airplanes and flying, that was his passion."
Until 2008, he was one of 78,000 World War II veterans still marked as missing.
Vicki had mourned the loss of her love, but later married Robert E. Lee for 53 years until he died. He was to return from duty on Christmas 1941 and they were to be married. There was no wedding.
Till's remains were buried March 23, 2009, in Arlington National Cemetery and Lee planned to attend. Both women sat together at the ceremony. Ensign Till is buried in Section 60, Site 8998.
In 1943, a Navy destroyer escort, the USS Till (DE-748) was named after him. It provided escort duty to convoys during World War II then became a training vessel before being sunk in a training exercise of the US east coast in 1969.
These Are Good Stories. --DaCoot
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