Thair W. Best: shot down on his forty-fifth mission

22 January 1945

The tie, stated exactly: Thair W. Best was born at Pomeroy, Iowa, on 7 November 1921. Mishawaka was his home: his obituary is headed from Mishawaka, his family was of the city, and his war was flown from it in every way but the accident of birth, which this section states rather than smooths over. He was a first lieutenant of the Army Air Forces, a pilot of a P-38 photo-reconnaissance aircraft of the Ninth Air Force — unarmed camera work over Germany, flown alone.

The award, verified: His Silver Star was first carried in this build's working record on the strength of his 2014 obituary alone, which is newspaper strength. This pass verified it against the award record as the Hall of Valor carries it: "The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Thair W. Best (ASN: 0-769681), United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-38 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft of the NINTH Air Force, in aerial operations over Germany, on 22 January 1945." The register marks the entry a synopsis — "(Citation Needed)" — and this section prints it at that strength; the instrument is Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, general orders of 19 June 1945 (the order's number renders imperfectly in the register and is not printed here). The obituary and the award record agree, and the entry now stands on the record.

Prisoner: The same register carries his second decoration, and the National Archives' prisoner-of-war database stands beneath it: Best was captured by German forces after he was shot down on or about 22 January 1945 — the same day as the action his Silver Star cites — and was held as a prisoner of war until his return to United States military control at the end of hostilities in May 1945. For that captivity he holds the Prisoner of War Medal. His obituary adds the frame the register does not carry: he was shot down on his forty-fifth mission. He lived to old age as a Mishawaka man, dying on 17 January 2014, and the Tribune's obituary is the source of the life-frame printed here; the decorations stand on the register and the Archives.

Sources:

1. Military Times Hall of Valor, record of Thair W. Best: Silver Star synopsis (Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, 19 June 1945) and Prisoner of War Medal (National Archives POW database, Records of World War II Prisoners of War).
2. Obituary of Thair W. Best, South Bend Tribune, via Legacy, 9 March 2014 (born Pomeroy, Iowa, 7 November 1921; died 17 January 2014; shot down on his forty-fifth mission).