In
1945 he was wounded and awarded a Purple Heart.
He went back on duty on 22 March. On March 25,
only three days after he had returned, his plane
was shot down by German anti aircraft fire over
enemy lines in Germany.
The following article appeared in the Morning
Sun News-Herald on May 10, 1945.
Lt. Maurice Kerr Killed in Action
Previously Reported Missing.
Lt. Maurice J. Kerr, who has been reported
missing in action as of March 25, now has been
officially declared killed in action by the War
Department. Lt. Kerr, pilot of an artillery
observation plane over the German lines, had
been wounded in action and had left the hospital
only three days before he was reported missing
in action. He enlisted in the army in July 1942,
and after preliminary training he attended the
Army Air Force Liaison Training School at
Pittsburg, Kansas.
He graduated a second lieutenant, from that
school September 16, 1943, Lt. Kerr went
overseas from Fort George Meade, Maryland on
August 9, 1944 and saw action in France,
Holland, Belgium and Germany. Last December 16
he was commissioned a first lieutenant.
Lt. Kerr was a native of Morning Sun, the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Kerr. He grew to young
manhood here and graduated from the Morning Sun
High School with the class of 1939. Besides his
parents, he is survived by three brothers, one
of them Virgil S. Kerr, recently discharged from
the army after a long term of service in combat
areas, and six sisters.
A week later, on May 17, 1945, the next message
was printed in the Morning Sun News Herald.
"Lt. Maurice J. Kerr, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Maurice Kerr, was killed in action over Germany
on March 25,. Lt. Kerr, serving with an
artillery observation unit, had been wounded in
previous action and had been released from the
hospital only three days before his death. He is
the fourth Morning Sun boy to die in action."
The June 14, 1945 issue of the Morning Sun News
Herald had the following message
Tells of Death of Junior Kerr.
Letter from Commanding Officer to Parents Here
The following letter has been received here by
Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Kerr telling them of the
manner in which their son, Lt. Maurice J. Kerr
met death in Germany.
Headquarters 83rd Armd FA Bn
APO 339 % Postmaster
New York City, N.Y.
May 28, 1945
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Kerr,
The official
notification of the untimely death of your son,
First Lieutenant Maurice J. Kerr, 01185229, must
have been a blow to you that any words I might
say could not ease, but I want you to know how
keenly his loss is felt by myself and the
officers and men of this battalion. I feel that
I have lost a personal friend as well as an
outstanding soldier.Maurice was not only a fine
aggressive soldier, but had the happy faculty of
being admired and respected by everyone with
whom he came in contact. He met his unfortunate
death when his plane was shot down on the 25th
of March 1945 in western Germany, while
performing his duty as liaison pilot. Death was
instantaneous and he could have suffered no
pain. Burial rites were conducted shortly
thereafter at a Military Cemetery in Germany by
a Protestant Chaplain.It is my hope that this
expression of my personal feelings and the
information of the circumstances surrounding
your son's passing may be of some comfort to you
in your bereavement. If I can ever be of any
assistance to you, please do not hesitate to
call upon me.
Sincerely,
Clarence C. Harvey Jr.
Lt. Col., 83rd Armd, FA Bn, Commanding
In the July 26, 1945 News Herald - there is a
letter printed to Mrs. Kerr from a member of Lt.
Kerr's battalion dated July 1, 1945 from
Weissenburg, Germany. In it he talks about Lt.
Kerr's history with the battalion and how he
died.
"The plane was hit by a German Ack Ack gun
and both pilot and observer were killed before
the gun crashed to the ground."
"From the information obtainable to us at this
time, both Maurice and Smitty (Corporal W. T.
Smothers was in the plane with Lt. Kerr) are
buried at Henri Chapelle cemetery in Belgium."
Signed T-3 Thomas W. Clark
1Lt Maurice Kerr is Buried at Margraten, Plot H
Row 16 Grave 7
