copyright © Wartime Heritage Association 2012-2024 Website hosting courtesy of Register.com - a web.com company
Wartime Heritage ASSOCIATION
Remembering World War II
Name: Adrian Curtis Wiles Rank: Radioman Third Class Service Number: 6663868 Service: USS Swanson, US Naval Reserve, US Navy Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: December 1, 1921 Place of Birth: Bridgewater, Lunenburg Co., NS Date of Enlistment: Unknown Place of Enlistment: Unknown Address at Enlistment: Worcester, Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 20-21 Height: 5 feet, 10 inches Complexion: Ruddy Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Occupation: Forging metal components Next of Kin: John H Wiles Date of Death: September 29, 1944 Age: 22 Cemetery: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii Grave: Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing Adrian Curtis Wiles was the son of John Harold Wiles (1887-) and Dora Kathleen (Turner) Wiles (1893-). His mother was born in Hemford, Lunenburg Co., NS. The family moved to the United States in 1926. In 1940, Adrian was living and working as a bowling alley pin boy in Worcester, Mass. He registered for the US Draft two years later on February 15, 1942, in Worcester, and was working for the Wyman-Gordon Company, a metal-forging business, on Madison Street in Worcester. Adrian served on the USS Swanson. The USS Swanson (DD-443) was a Gleaves-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson (1862–1939). Adrian first appears of the Navy muster rolls with the Swanson on January 14, 1943, and served on the USS Swanson until his death in September 1944. On August 19, 1944, Swanson left New Guinea and joined Fast Carrier Task Force (Task Force 38). The destroyer screened the aircraft carriers Franklin, Enterprise, and San Jacinto, while they launched airstrikes on Bonins, Ulithi, Yap, Palau, Okinawa, Taiwan, and while they provided air support for the Philippine landings on October 20, 1944. Adrian Curtis Wiles was killed in action while serving aboard USS Swanson on September 29, 1944. He is remembered on the Honolulu Memorial in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial of the Pacific in Hawaii.
Adrian Curtis Wiles
Return To Links