Dale Tinney

S/Sgt. Dale C. 'Sta' Tinney, 88 years old, sortied for his final mission on December 2, 2010 at the Madison, Morgantown, WV. He was a veteran of WW II having served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. 15th Air Force/459 Bomb Group 43-45 ending the war as Staff Sgt. He was a former POW, member of the VFW, 459th Bomb Group Assn., WV Laborers Union, and AFGE. He was a son of the late Alva A. and Clara B. Tinney of Everettville, WV. He is preceded in death by his wife Geneva who passed away in 1976. He also is preceded by his parents, four brothers, Junior Tinney, Ward P. Tinney, Harlan A. Tinney, Wade S. Tinney and a sister Ruby M. Douglass.

He is survived by two sisters, Jean McClellan of Broken Arrow, OK, and Shirley A. Phillips of Sheridan, AK; three sisters-in-law, Joanne Tinney of Henderson, NV, Mary Tinney of Good Hope, WV, and Catherine Tinney of Westover; one grandson, Christopher Lowther, and many nieces and nephews who will miss him.

He was born in Morgantown, June 23, 1922, in First Ward. He was a lifelong resident of Monongalia County except for being gone to work in the defense industry and his service in the military during the war. At an early age, he sold the Dominion News and Morgantown Post on the street corners for 3 cents. He picked coal off slates after the family moved to Everettville, where his father was employed as a carpenter at the Koppers Coal Mine. He and his brothers picked, bagged, and delivered 100 lb. sacks of house coal at 5 cents each. After schooling he was in the CCC's and was stationed at Parson, WV where he was a lineman, stringing lines to fire towers in the vast forest area there. He then went to a NYA sheet metal school with his brothers in Charleston, WV. They all found employment at Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Co. in Baltimore just before WWII started.

In the spring of ' 43, Dale was drafted into the Army Air Corps. After attending schools and gunnery training he was sent to the 15th Air Force in Italy. He was promoted quickly and was assigned a peach of a job. Lower ball turret gunner on a B-24. He flew 24 missions before his luck ran out. He was shot down by AA over Ploesti, Romania on 28 July 1944. He was captured by the German Army and spent the next six months in a POW camp near Bucharest. He was one of four survivors of the crew. Six others went to their deaths. He always maintained that the rest of his life was a gift as he should have been killed with the rest of the crew.

After returning from the war, his family purchased a small grocery store in Everettville and he worked there until its closure in the summer of 1965. He then worked as a mason helper at new construction at Fairmont State. He then worked constructing the railroad line to Federal #2 and Blacksville 1 and 2 mines. When they were finished he worked as a crew leader on the construction of I-79 from Uffington to South Fairmont until it was completed. He then secured employment at RFK/FCI Morgantown where he remained until his retirement in 1984. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and hobby modeling. He resided at his residence in Lowesville until 2007 when his health caused him to come and reside with his nephew Gary and wife Brenda. With much appreciated care from Sue Stallings and Debbie McGee who cared for him during the weekdays he was able to live out a few more years of good quality time. In the spring of 2010 his health failed enough that he needed more care than we could provide at home for him. He went to live at the Madison. The staffs there were very caring for him and he would entertain them and the other patients with stories and his renditions of 40's era's songs. He remained in good spirits there until the end. 45924J Heavy has cleared the tower. Go with the grace of God, Dale.

Friends may call at the McCulla Funeral Home on Saturday from 2-4 & 6-8 PM. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM Sunday at the McCulla Funeral Home with Pastor Nate Williamson officiating. Burial will follow at Beverly Hills Cemetery with graveside military honors conferred by the Westover VFW Post # 9916 and WVANG Military Funeral Honors, Camp Dawson. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.McCulla.com.

Sgt DALE TINNEY was assigned or attached to the 459th Bombardment Group on 16 June 1944 according to a 27 October 1944 dated document subject roster of personnel sent to the commanding general NATOUSA

MACR: 7314

S/Sgt. Dale C Tinney was assigned to the 459th BG 756th Squadron.
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS): Ball Turret.

The following information on Dale Tinney is gathered and extracted from military records. We have many documents and copies of documents, including military award documents. It is from these documents that we have found this information on S/Sgt. Tinney. These serviceman's records are nowhere near complete and we are always looking for more material. If you can help add to Dale Tinney's military record please contact us.