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Birth:          7 Jan 1922 Washington, D.C.
Death:          5 Apr 1972 
Burial:         Culpeper Nat'l Cemetery, Culpeper, Culpeper Co., Va.

Notes
!PUBL
findagrave, Capt USAF, WW2, Koreal
1920 in Washington, D.C.
http://www.evasioncomete.org/fkesterje.html
Edwin John Kester / O-824 644
 60 East West Road, Ebenezer, New York, USA 
Born August 29, 1923 in the State of New York / mission † January 14, 1945 
2nd Lt, 55 USAAF Fighter Group Fighter Squadron 338 pilot 
Placed on the beach of the "Truc Vert" near Lege-Cap Ferret, west of Arcachon, 
Gironde, France. P-51D Mustang serial number: 44-13663 Registration / Name: CL-N, 
touched . by flak August 26, 1944 during a bomber escort mission Ludwigshafen 
Landing on the beach of the "Truc Vert" near Lege-Cap Ferret, west of Arcachon, 
Gironde, France Duration: 3 weeks. A Gastes liberation.
Report of loss of this device: MACR 8534. evasion Report E & E 2049, available 
online. 

Capt Gevorkian was part of the same squadron that Lt John Kester and both make an 
emergency landing at a few hundred meters from each other on the same beach of 
Cap Ferret. 

After escorting bombers to Ludwigshafen, the two pilots and five other drivers 
Mustang 55th FG, who attacked a Nancy railway depot, take the way back to their 
base Wormingford England. The devices Kester, Gevorkian and Lt. Samuel E. 
Hansard through a stormy area after flying Ghent and do not realize that their 
navigation instruments were deregulated. They follow the instructions of their compass 
... and instead of heading to England they actually fly to Bordeaux. 

Gevorkian and Kester, fearful of falling out of gas, decided to attempt a landing on a 
beach they see, but Lt Hansard, presumably taking the Bay of Biscay for the Channel 
continues its flight and lost in the 'Atlantic. Neither he nor his aircraft were never 
found. 

Information as to those encountered by Kester and Gevorkian and the chronology of 
events diverge slightly and here we synthesize the information, mainly those included 
in their reports of escape, that of being the most comprehensive Gevorkian. 

Gevorkian and Kester are persuaded to be in the North of France and report that they 
have received help after about an hour, Ms. JOHNSTON Gervokian mentioning a 
L'Herbe, speaking English. Their reports do not mention it, but the first contact is a 
AUGER MA puts them in contact with the FFI of Cap Ferret. These call Guy SCHYLER 
(Schuyler in the E & E reports) and Prince Stanislas Poniatowski ( "Stanley" for 
Americans), which come up by boat and lead to the villa of Prince on the other side of 
the Bay Arcachon (Hyowawa Villa, 63 Boulevard de l'Océan, Arcachon). 

According to the report Gevorkian, they (Kester and him) stay for twelve days (Kester 
said August 26 to September 5) in the villa. Guy SCHYLER, ex-pilot, 32, whose mother 
lives next door, then leads the Bordeaux where they stay two days in the district 
Caudéran M. DUBREILLE, a member of the FFI and known to Miss F. RAULY 23 street 
Villas in Caudéran, which is not a member of any organization. 

According to a story by Guy SCHYLER, he drove the two airmen from her grandmother, 
Mrs. GUESTIER in Bordeaux, directly after landing. According to him, they remained 
several days. 

Subsequently, Mr. Xavier TESTAS organizes the transfer of Gevorkian and Kester to 
Hendaye, where they are hosted by the spouses Gabriel TESTAS [In fact, they live in 
Merignac Place Mondesir, a suburb of Bordeaux]. They then leave Hendaye drive, led 
by Gabriel TESTAS and his wife to travel to Gastes in the Landes near Biscarosse, 
where there are other aviators, Wilbur Volz , Raymond Walsh and Thomas Smith . 

The five men face the allied troops in Gastes. Back in Hendaye, Gevorkian and Kester 
are interviewed on 9 September by the vice-consul of the United States, Robert 
Brandon. They are then led to Biarritz where they meet other escaped airmen, two men 
of the RAF, a Canadian, to be Sgt James Bray and Lt. Christian Christ . All entrusted 
to the military authorities 10 September 1944 and join their units. 

Gervokian is part of the "100th trip" noted by Elvire DE GREEF in a C47 taking them 
from Biarritz to London on 13 September. He was interrogated the next day at 63 
Brook Street in London by IS9. 

Like other above airmen, "Will Owen", "Lessy Dones", "Perkins" and "Felipe", James 
Bray, Chris Christian, John Kester, Louis Mostardi , Hamp Nicholson , Tom Smith, 
Wilbur Volz, Walsh, Gevorkian name is included in the book "Airmen helped" Elvira dE 
GREEF in Anglet. It is indicated there as "JD Levorkian" but the information included 
in other E & E reports helped identify. 

Parents
KESTER Donald L. ()
----- Lucille Q. ()

Siblings
KESTER John Edwin (7 Jan 1922 - 5 Apr 1972)

Marriage To CONKLIN Beryl Brown (14 Jul 1924 - 24 Oct 1974)
    m.  

Notes

Parents
CONKLIN Rush West (15 Mar 1877 - 2 Nov 1953)
BROWN Beryl Emily (28 Jun 1890 - 21 Dec 1968)

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