World War II Veterans from Dillon County, South Carolina

HAYES, Lloyd E.
Rank:	Private First Class
Service Branch:	U.S. Army
Serial Number:	34129166
Division:	AAA
Regiment:	Battery "B"
Company:	Gun Crew #8 ("Old Glory")
Battalion:	455th AAA
Function:
Status:	Killed in Action
Date of death:	April 4, 1945
Place of death:	near Seebach, Germany
Age at death:	24
Awards:
Burial 1:
Grave number:
Burial 2:	Hayes Cemetery near Kemper, South Carolina
Cenotaph:
Born:	August 9, 1920
Hometown:	Dillon County, South Carolina
Family:	Parents: Evey Thompson Hayes (1867 - 1943) Virginia Ann Hayes Hayes (1881 - 1952) Spouse: Children: Siblings: Cordie E. Hayes (1904 - 1926) Maude Hayes McDaniel (1908 - 1988) Albert M. Hayes (1911 - 1981) Eunice Hayes Lane (1926 - 2004)
Additional information:	Lloyd Hayes enlisted in the US Army on July 23, 1942 at Ft. Jackson, SC. His papers show that he had a grammar school education, was single at the time, and his pre-war occupation was "driver (bus, taxi, truck and tractor)". Lloyd joined the 455^th AAA Bn. after their formation at Camp Stewart, GA in Sept. 1942, and trained with them in anti-aircraft procedures at Camp Stewart and Ft. Benning, GA. He was assigned to Battery 'B', gun crew #8 ('Old Glory'). The 455th went to Europe in Sept. of 1943 and spent some 10 months guarding USAAF airbases in Norfolk, England. Battery 'B' guarded Snetterton Heath (a B-17 airbase), Norfolk. He became a truck driver for his Gun Crew and either towed and/or was a crewman on the 40mm Bofors AA gun. In July 1944, the unit went to France, joined Patton's 3rd Army for the Normandy breakout, then raced across France. They guarded field artillery units, supply dumps and airfields against German air attack. They later moved into Germany-- and ended the war in Austria. They destroyed or damaged over 130 German aircraft, the 2nd highest scoring AAA unit of all of Patton's anti-aircraft units. MILITARY ACTION: Loyd's gun crew (Battery 'B', gun crew #8 of the 455th AAA Bn.) was providing protection for the 176th Field Arty. Bn., which supported CCB of the Sixth Armored Division, on April 4th, 1945. At 0230 AM, his gun crew bedded down for the night, after an all-day convoy. At approx. 0400 AM, the guard heard a noise and challenged it. A German force, estimated at 30 men, raked the area with machine gun and small arms fire. Lloyd Hayes was out by his truck and was killed. A bazooka round hit the pyramidal tent in which the 455th AAA gun crew #8 was sleeping and mortar fire blanketed the area. Section members used small arms and the M51 quad .50-cal. machine gun of the section to disperse the enemy. Gun crew #8 suffered one dead and four seriously wounded. This was the worst single loss the 455th AAA would suffer in WW II. (The above is an edited selection of material on Findagrave, apparently written by "455th AAA Historian" (real name unknown). Many thanks to the author for generously sharing details that shine light on the bravery and military service of PFC Lloyd E. Hayes.--vp).