Lloyd Craney

Lloyd Craney was born on March 8, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Leslie and Marguerite, were both born and raised in Illinois, and worked on a farm when Lloyd was born. Lloyd had an older sister, Ethel, and a younger brother, Leslie Jr. When Lloyd was eight years old, the Craneys moved to Lacey, Washington, where Leslie Sr. continued to work as a farmworker. Lloyd attended Olympia High School and graduated in 1935. He was an active member of the track team and earned his letters as a senior.

Lloyd enrolled in Washington State College in 1937. As a freshman, he played as an end for the football team. In 1938, he pledged the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, where he remained active for the rest of his time at WSC. He majored in civil engineering. While at WSC, he met fellow student Beverly Arnold, and the two married on June 7, 1942. They had a small ceremony at Beverly’s parents’ home in Olympia. Beverly graduated from WSC and worked as a faculty member of Monroe School, while Craney worked as an engineer in Kokiak, Alaska.

Craney enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in May 1942. He received his wings on July 28, 1943. Craney was stationed at several bases in the United States during his first year as a pilot, including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas. During this year, he and his wife had their first and only child together on December 30, 1943, named Arnold Lloyd. In early 1944, he earned the rank of Lieutenant and was stationed at Sedalia Army Air Corps Glider Base in Johnson County, Missouri. Now known as Whiteman Air Force Base, the base was built in 1942 as part of the United States’ mobilization to join the war after Pearl Harbor. The field became the training site for the 12th Troop Carrier Command, training gliders and paratroopers. On March 11, 1944, while performing a troop transfer from Fort Wayne, Indiana to the Morrison Air Force Base near West Palm Beach, poor weather conditions caused the Douglas C-47 Skytrain that Craney was piloting to crash, killing all five occupants. It was three days after his 27th birthday.

Second Lieutenant Lloyd Craney is buried at the Masonic Memorial Park in Tumwater, Washington. His sister, Ethel, was married and settled down in Puyallup, Washington, while his brother, Leslie Jr., was a Marine stationed at San Diego when Craney was killed. Leslie Jr. survived the war, married a woman named Florence, and settled down in Tumwater, near his brother’s grave. His widow, Beverly, continued her career as a teacher and lived on to the age of ninety-six. She eventually remarried and had two more children.