Richard Turner Norvell

Captain Richard Turner Norvell was killed in action on April 5, 1943 on a bombing mission over Sicily during the North Africa Campaign during World War II.  He was 25 years old.

Richard Turner Norvell was born in Henderson, North Carolina on November 18, 1917, the son of Hugh Ladd Norvell and Minnie Durham Norvell.  He graduated from Henderson High School in the Class of 1936. He attended Louisburg College and Elon College prior to enlistment.  He was married to Dorothy McKeown Norvell.

Capt Norvell enlisted as an Aviation Cadet in the Army Air Corps on February 10, 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was deployed to the North Africa Campaign in 1942 serving with the 428th Bomber Squadron, 310th Bomber Group, Medium, U.S. Army Air Forces as a Captain/ Navigator on a B-25.

In November 1942, the squadron flew its planes to Mediouna Airfield, French Morocco, to support Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. The squadron engaged primarily in air support and interdiction. Through May 1943, it also attacked shipping and harbor facilities to cut the logistics lines of the  Nazis’ Afrika Corps. It bombed marshaling yards, rail lines, highways, bridges, viaducts, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, shipping, harbors and other objectives in North Africa.

Norvell’s B-25 took off on a bombing mission over Borizzo Airdrome, Sicily on April 5, 1945. The aircraft was hit by enemy flak and crashed off the coast of Sicily.  Three airmen, including Capt. Norvell,  perished in the crash. Two crew members were captured and interned as prisoners of war.

Captain Richard Turner Norvell is listed on the Tablets of the Missing in the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.  

Last edited: 8 June 2026