Lieutenant Lisle Harrison Foord USMC

Lisle Harrison Foord was born May 28, 1921 to Lisle and Clara Foord of Huntington Park CA. He graduated from Huntington Park HS in 1940. Unfortunately, his father died from wounds received in WW I in the late 1930’s and his mother died in 1940. He and his sister then moved to Las Vegas NM in 1940 to live with his aunt, Mrs. Fred Kranin. He enrolled at NMAMC in the fall of 1940 and attended for two years studying Agriculture. While at NMAMC he played both football and basketball. Leaving school in 1942, he joined the United States Marine Corps and entered their pilot training program. In April of 1943 he was assigned to the Marine Barracks, Us Naval Air Station, Miami, Florida under training to fly the F4U 1 fighter aircraft. In July 1943 he was assigned as a new pilot to Marine Fighting Squadron 123, Marine Aircraft Group 11, First Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force then stationed at Efate, Vanuatu. On August 14, 1943 VMF 123 began operations out of Munda Airfield in the Solomon Islands. On August 18, 1943, while engaged in aerial combat with enemy aircraft over Vela LaVella, Lt Lisle Harrison Foord was lost. His body was never recovered. Today he is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery. He was 23 years of age at the time of his death.