Ross Orr was one of three boys born to Jeff and Lela Maude (Roby) Orr. He was born the 27th day of August 1923 in Houston County in southeast Alabama. His father, Jeff Orr, worked as a cobbler and ran a shoe shop until he was employed by the U.S. Government as a Parachute Rigger at Napier Air Field near Dothan, Alabama.

Ross Orr was a member of a Boy Scout troop, graduated from Dothan High School in 1941 and worked for a few months with his father at Napier Air Field before enlisting in the Army Air Corps on 19 June 1942 at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. In August 1942 he was a Private in the Army Air Force Technical School at Keesler Field, Mississippi, where he was appointed an Aviation Cadet. In November 1942, age 19, he was in the Army Air Force Classification Center, Nashville, Tennessee. By December, he was in the Pre-flight Training School for pilots at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama. He was then stationed at Spence Field, Moultrie, Georgia, where he completed the Advanced Flying School for Single-Engine airplanes and received his Pilot’s wings and appointment as a 2nd Lieutenant in July of 1943. His next assignment was in Tallahassee, Florida.

Sent for overseas duty in November 1943, he was stationed at the 8th Air Force Fighter Station in England where he was in an advanced course for fighter pilot training and he was flying a P-47 Thunderbolt. In April of 1944, 2nd Lt. Orr was awarded the Air Medal for “meritorious service” after completing ten operational sorties over some of the most heavily defended territory in Europe. In June of 1944, Ross was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross and promoted to the rank of1st Lieutenant in a ceremony conducted by his Commanding Officer. He also was awarded a third Oak Leaf Cluster to his Air Medal. The newspaper reports stated “He has made several of the historic aerial assaults on Berlin and has often escorted large formations of Fortress and Liberator bombers deep within Germany. Dive-bombing missions and ground strafing attacks on German airfields have also been part of his combat experience.” In July of 1944 his parents received a telegram notifying them he was missing in action.

On 1 July 1944, 1st Lt. Ross Orr, age 20, was on a combat mission over France serving with the 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, flying a P-47 Thunderbolt (Tail number 226640) when he was killed in action. A post-battle report from another pilot states: “Shampoo Red Flight was in good battle formation at about 16,000 feet over Saint-Quentin, France when they were jumped by ten plus ME 109's. Shampoo Red Leader (Lt. Orr) made a 135 degree climbing left turn while jettisoning his bombs and belly tank. An ME 109 closed on Shampoo Red Lead and, at point blank range, opened fire hitting the cockpit area. Lt. Orr's plane rolled slowly over on the right wing and plummeted straight down.” In his last letter home Orr reported he had flown 65 missions including giving aerial support to paratroopers landing in Normandy, France, on D-Day.

1st Lt. Ross Orr was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. He was initially buried in Saint Andre Cemetery at Evreux, France, and later moved to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. He was survived by his parents; two brothers, Tech. Sergeant Will Jeff Orr, an aerial gunner who flew numerous combat missions against the Japanese in the southwest Pacific during the war; and, Allie Ellis Orr, who served in the Air Force in Korea; and by one sister, Betty Jean Orr.

His name is listed in the Hall of Honor at Alabama Veterans Memorial Park in Birmingham, AL.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

SBTSProject/Alabama/Houston

Sources:

Ancestry.com

Newspapers.com

Orr, Ross, 1st Lt