Francis S. Love (1943)

LOVE

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 5/23/2020 at 10:41:50

The Stuart Herald
Stuart, Iowa
November 25, 1943
Page 6, Column 5

John Love received a telegram on Wednesday morning that his son, 1st Lt. Francis Love, was missing in action since November 2nd, over New Brittain. Lt. Love was reported missing once before, and after several weeks among friendly natives, made his way back to his airfield.
--------------------

Dallas County News
Adel, Iowa
October 3, 2002
Page 1 & 2

First Lt. Francis S. Love is finally home in Dexter. For nearly 58 years, Love’s body laid undiscovered in the cockpit of his World War II P-38 fighter plane in the jungles of New Guinea.

Late last year, Love’s plane. In the cockpit were skeletal remains, later identified as Love. Near him was his 1936 Dexter High School class ring, proudly bearing the initials, “FSL”.

Last Friday, Love was laid to rest at Dexter Cemetery following stirring memorial services at Dexter United Methodist Church and the cemetery.

Love was just 25 when he died—an American hero of the “war to end all wars.”

He had been awarded the Air Medal for flights in the Southwest Pacific. Love flew more than 25 operational missions from May 17 to July 11, 1943. Those missions were recognized as exceptional aids to the success of the Southwest Pacific theatre operation.

Twice before his fatal mission, Love had been shot down.

He had crashed his plane in shark-infested waters, spending 24 hours in the ocean before being rescued. He lived for a week with the natives who rescued him. Two months after that episode, Love again crash-landed his plane on a New Guinea beach.

Relatives were told that when Love was shot down on Nov. 2, 1943, he was among 10 planes on a mission over Rabaul New Brittain.

Nine of the 10 planes—with the 49th Fighter Squadron, 5th Air Force—did not return.

Until notified by the Pentagon that his remains had been found, relatives believed that Love had been shot down in the ocean.

After the war, the pilot of the 10th plane made a trip to visit all the families of the other nine pilots. He told Love’s relatives that he was alive because of Love’s heroics. Love had shot down the Japanese plane on his tail, the surviving pilot said, and he was able to fly into the clouds and escape.

Among those mourning at Friday’s services were two of his three surviving brothers, Arvid and Ed, both of Dexter. A third brother, Charles, of Cherokee, was not able to attend.

For Arvid Love, discovery of his brother’s remains brought back many emotions from the past.

After believing for years that his brother had been shot down in the ocean and would never be found, he tearfully accepted news to the contrary.

After the remains were discovered last year, they were taken to Hawaii where the government sought to confirm identification.

A nurse from Adel was dispatched to Arvid Love’s home where blood samples were taken to compare with DNA samples from the skeletal remains.

Subsequently, the body was positively identified as that of Francis Love.

On Friday, the military, along with family members, and others, paid their final tributes to Lt. Love. He was laid to rest with full military honors.

Despite the fact that Love had died in 1943, services at Dexter Methodist Church were emotional, bringing tears to many of those attending.

Members of the U.S. Military Honor Detail from the Iowa National Guard in Des Moines were pallbearers and members of Dexter and Earlham American Legion posts were honorary pallbearers.

The Military Honor Detail also conducted graveside rites.

Following a 21-gun salute, a military bugler played “Taps.” That same military honor detail dutifully folded the American flag and presented it to Arvid Love.

Had he lived, Lt. Francis S. Love would have been 84.