1st Lt. Edward T. McGuire

On August 1, 1943, Lt. Edward Timothy McGuire, 22, of Chicago was serving with the 415th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force during World War II. The B-24 Liberator aircraft on which Lt. McGuire was serving as a pilot, crashed as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during Operation TIDAL WAVE, the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries at Ploiesti, North of Bucharest, Romania. He was unable to be identified following the war. At the time, military personnel that could not be identified were buried as Unknowns in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), the organization that searches for and recovers fallen American personnel, disinterred all American military from the Bolovan Cemetery for identification. The AGRC was unable to identify more than 80 unknowns from Bolovan Cemetery, and those personnel were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, both in Belgium. In 2017, DPAA began exhuming unknowns believed to be associated with unaccounted-for airmen from Operation TIDAL WAVE losses. These unknowns were sent to the DPAA Laboratory for examination and identification. On June 30, 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that United States Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Edward T. McGuire, killed during World War II, was finally accounted for June 30, 2023.

Lt. McGuire’s name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Edward was the cherished son of the late Timothy and Delia McGuire; loving brother of the late Mary (the late Francis) McAuliffe and the late William (the late Marilyn) McGuire; fond uncle of Edward (the late Marilyn) McAuliffe, Mary Lynn (Robert) Clarke, Kathleen Kettinger, Maureen (the late Kevin) Farrell, Jennie Rae (Richard) Aleksy, Timmie (Frank) Cortina, and the late Noreen (Gerald) Lombardi. Edward is also survived by many loving nephews, nieces, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.

Friends and family will gather for a visitation for Edward that will be held Saturday, October 28th, 2023 from 9:30am until time of Mass of Christian burial at 11am, at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 9525 Lawndale Avenue, Evergreen Park, Illinois 60805. Internment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Ex-Prisoners of War, PO Box 3445, Arlington, TX 76007-3445 (www.axpos.org), or Rolling Thunder, Inc., Chapter 2 Illinois 33 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2000, Chicago, Illinois 60602 would be appreciated.

For those unable to attend the services, please join us via LiveStream with the link below.

https://www.asimplestreaming.com/etmcguire/

Funeral services have been entrusted to Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 West 103rd Street, Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453. Please call 708-636-1193 for further information.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.blakelamboaklawn.com for the McGuire family.