By Deborah Larsen
Virgil Eugene Holman
Virgil Eugene Holman was born in Rochester, Michigan, on April 7, 1918, the son of Leon and Helen Young Holman. Virgil attended Rochester High School and graduated in the class of 1936. After high school, he was employed at Pontiac Motors.
In February 1941, Virgil enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. On May 23, 1942, Virgil was piloting a P-38 fighter from Barksdale, Louisiana, to Patterson Field at Dayton, Ohio. Near Greenup, Kentucky, he lost both engines and crashed. Investigators theorized that he had flown through a localized thunderstorm and his aircraft had been struck by lightning, stalling both engines. Virgil was taken to a hospital in Ashland, Kentucky, with third-degree burns and died of his injuries the following day.
Virgil Eugene Holman died at age 24 on May 24, 1942, and was laid to rest in Mount Avon Cemetery.