2nd Lt. Nathaniel L. Hightower

Second Lieutenant Nathaniel Lee Hightower Jr., passed away on August 3, 1943, in the vicinity of Mektila, Burma. He was born on June 10, 1916, to his parents Nathaniel Lee Hightower II and Mina McGinty Hightower. He was married to Nan Elizabeth Beaty Hightower Hawkins before his passing. Second Lt. Hightower served in the 22nd Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), 10th Air Force, During the Second World War. Historians at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency report that on August 3, 1943, Second Lieutenant Hightower was reported Missing In Action per Missing Air Crew Report 241. The B-25C Mitchell aircraft that Second Lieutenant Hightower was co-piloting was last sighted over the target of a low-altitude bombing raid on Meiktila, Burma (present-day Myanmar). His remains were not accounted for during or after the war. Of the six individuals manifested on board the aircraft, two individuals survived the crash and were captured by Japanese forces. The other four Aircrew members died in the crash, the site which could not be located. In late 1946 or early 1947, the American Grave Registration Service recovered the remains of four individuals interred by locals in a common grave near the village of Kyunpobin, Burma. According to local witnesses, the remains came from an “American Crash,” in which four Airmen died and two survived, to be captured and taken away by Japanese forces. During Second Lieutenants service during World War II, he was awarded these awards; Purple Heart (Posthumously), Air Medal (Posthumously), American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Two Bronze Service Stars, World War II Victory Medal, U.S. Army Air Forces Pilot Wings and Honorable Service Lapel Button World War II.

Second Lieutenant Hightower is survived by Betty Merrill Bettis.

There will be a graveside service with military honors at Alabama National Cemetery on Friday, October 17, 2025, at 12:30 pm.

The family would especially like to thank the following for everything they did to return Second Lieutenant Hightower; Michael J. Mee, Chief, Identifications Past Conflict Repatriate’s Branch and Capt. Nate Scoggins, Casualty Assistance Office.