Andy Curlee
| Date and Place of Birth: | November 27, 1915 Wetumpka, AL |
| Date and Place of Death: | April 6, 1943 Tunisia, North Africa |
| Baseball Experience: | College |
| Position: | Unknown |
| Rank: | First Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | 432nd Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group USAAF |
| Area Served: | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
Lt. Andrew D. Curlee, Jr., Wetumpka, an Auburn Alumnus, was
killed while leading a squadron of planes in North Africa on April 6,
according to a telegram just received by his father, A.D. Curlee of
Wetumpka.
Auburn Plainsman April 30, 1943
Andrew D. "Andy" Curlee, Jr., was born in Wetumpka, Alabama in 1916.
Curlee entered Auburn University in 1934 as a freshman in Agricultural
Economics. He played baseball and captained the basketball team at
Auburn. Following graduation he served as assistant county agent of Lee
County.
Curlee entered military service on November 5, 1941 and received his
cadet training at Gunter Field, Montgomery, Alabama. He earned his
pilot's wings at Turner Field, Georgia, and was sent to Barksdale Field,
Louisiana, before being sent to North Africa to serve with the 432nd
Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group.
Based at Telergma, Algeria, the 17th Bomb Group flew its first combat
mission against the Germans at Gabes Airfield in southern Tunisia on 30
December. First Lieutenant Curlee, piloting a Martin B-26 Marauder, was
a flight leader and led his squadron on numerous missions against enemy
targets in North Africa.
On April 6, 1943, First Lieutenant Andrew Curlee was killed while
leading his squadron in Tunisia. He is buried at the North African
American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia. He also has a marker at the
Ebenezer Bible Church Cemetery in Deatsville, Alabama, alongside his
father who passed away in November 1946.
Thanks to John Varner, Library Assistant, Special Collections/Archives at Auburn University for help with this biography.
Date Added July 28, 2012 Updated July 8, 2013
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