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Tulsan Lloyd Neblett, decorated World War II pilot and D-Day veteran, dies at 96

Posted: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 5:15 pm

By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer | 0 comments

As a cure for fear, Lloyd Neblett had to admit, adrenaline was hard to beat.

"Like everyone else, we were afraid," the former World War II transport pilot told the Tulsa World once.

"(But) we were too excited to let the fear get the best of us."

A lot of times, things just happened too fast for you to be scared.

It had been that way for Neblett on D-Day.

While flying a team of paratroopers into Normandy, he had faced almost certain disaster when, in a freak accident, his plane was hit by a bundle of supplies dropped from a plane above.

Dealing with a crippled aircraft — 8 feet of his right wing was torn off — the 25-year-old captain somehow kept his cool.

And able to regain control, he still dropped his paratroopers in the right spot.

Making it back to his base in England, he would enjoy a few extra, well-deserved shots of whiskey that evening.

For that close call, Neblett received the first of his two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Lloyd George Neblett, a longtime Tulsan and decorated veteran of D-Day and other WWII campaigns, died April 30. He was 96.

A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. May 30 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Freeman Harris Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Some of Neblett's ashes will also be interred at Ft. Gibson National Cemetery in June.

After his experience on D-Day, Neblett re-named his plane "Round Trip."

And many years later it would live up to the name again, coming back into his life unexpectedly.

Bought by a private party, Neblett's former C-47 was completely restored recently, and in March, made its first flight — from Bristow's Jones Memorial Airport to California.

Neblett, who participated in the restoration, wasn't able to make the send-off, but he listened by phone.

"My brother held the phone up," Neblett's daughter, Lin Cleary, said. "He said, 'Dad, can you hear it?' And he said, 'I heard it.' ... The experience was extremely moving, and a fitting way to honor him."

The best part, she added, was that the day coincided with Neblett's 96th birthday, March 17.

"It just worked out that way," Cleary said.

A native of Texarkana, Arkansas, Neblett had been in his early 20s when the U.S. entered the war.

He would do his part as a member of the 9th Air Force, where he was a squadron commander in the 441st Troop Carrier Group.

"It's still hard for me to fathom that at 23 he was in charge of 400 men," Cleary said.

During the war, Neblett would fly dozens of sorties across France and, eventually, Germany, delivering troops and supplies and evacuating the wounded.

One of the most important was during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

More than 900 C-47 troop transports took part on D-Day, and many would be damaged or destroyed.

Neblett was part of a formation of 45 C-47s delivering paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to a target area behind Utah Beach, one of the beaches Allied forces would storm in the hours ahead.

Despite fierce anti-aircraft fire and Neblett's own close call, only one C-47 in the formation was destroyed, and all the paratroopers were dropped into their designated areas.

Neblett, promoted to major after D-Day, would go on to participate in Operation Market Garden (the failed Allied invasion of the Netherlands) and the Battle of the Bulge, where he dropped supplies to troops at Bastogne.

Along the way, his honors would pile up, among them two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star, Air Medal and a French Croix de Guerre.

Neblett continued his service after the war with the Air Force Reserves. He retired in 1979 as a colonel.

He moved to Tulsa in 1952, and worked as a pilot for Amoco oil.

Neblett never accepted the title of "hero" for his war achievements.

He was part of a force with a job to do, he said.

"We did it to the best of our ability," he said.

Neblett was preceded in death by his wife of almost 70 years, Marion Neblett.

Survivors include his three children, George Neblett, Nancy Stunkard and Lin Cleary; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

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http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tu ... d2210.html