Grover Stephen Brines, Jr.
Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

Grover Stephen Brines Jr. was born on 24 July 1924 in El Paso, IL, the son of Grover Stephen and Mabel B. Brines.

Nicknamed "Wid," Brines trained at the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Freeman Army Air Field in Seymour, IN, in Class 43-I which graduated on 1 October 1943. There were 218 cadets in his class.

In March 1944, Second Lieutenant Grover S. Brines, Jr. was serving as a co-pilot with the 757th Bomb Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 304th Bombardment Wing, 15th Air Force, based at Giulia Airfield, Italy. The 459th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers on missions in Italy, France, the Balkans, Austria and Germany.

On 17 March 1944, 2LT Brines was the co-pilot on B-24H Liberator bomber, Serial Number 41-29237, named 'Tamerlane II' on a bombing mission over Vienna (Bad Vosleau), Austria. The aircraft had a crew of 10. The aircraft was last sighted at 1303 hours. The Missing Air Crew Report noted that the aircraft probably experienced engine supercharger trouble or failure.

All 10 crew members were listed as Missing in Action on MACR report 3298. Their official date of death is 2 August 1945.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Purple Heart
Air Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army Air Forces Pilot Badge

B-24H Liberator Bomber Serial Number 41-29237 'Tamerlane II' had the following crew on 17 March 1944.

● Pilot: 1LT Philip S. Wood, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 78612]
● Co-Pilot: 2LT Grover S. Brines, Jr. [Honoree Record ID 68066]
● Navigator: 2LT John H. Gorham [Honoree Record ID 202634]
● Bombardier: 2LT Frank N. Stear [Honoree Record ID 77923]
● Engineer: SSGT Michael R. Rindos [Honoree Record ID 207010]
● Radio Operator: SSGT Warren J. Montalbano [Honoree Record ID 205644]
● Waist Gunner: SGT Joseph J. Sellick [Honoree Record ID 207575]
● Ball Turret Gunner: SGT Lyle McAllister [Honoree Record ID 205137]
● Tail Turret Gunner: SGT Guy C. Hayes [Honoree Record ID 203100]
● Nose Turret Gunner: SGT Joseph M. Goodman [Honoree Record ID 202614]

Memorialization

Second Lieutenant Grover Stephen Brines, Jr. is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France

[The information in this biography was derived primarily from various sections of the 459th Bombardment Group website at http://www.459bg.org/ and permission was granted for its use.]