Okey Leonard Hiibner never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on August 14, 1918 in Utah. His parents George and Retta were both born in West Virginia. His father worked as a farmer. Okey had one older brother, four older sisters, one younger brother and one younger sister. By 1940 he had attended Utah State Agriculture College (now USU) and had completed a 2 1/2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was drafted into the army on December 3, 1941. He volunteered for the Army Air Forces and was trained to be a top turret gunner. He became a staff sergeant in the 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group which was equipped with B-17 Flying Fortresses.

Sgt. Hiibner had completed nineteen missions prior to his final mission on November 9, 1944. The target that day was Metz, Germany. Shortly after takeoff, Hiibner's plane, nicknamed Full House, collided with another bomber. Both planes crashed and only the tail gunner in the other plane managed to bail out and survive.

His grave is at Mendon City Cemetery in Mendon, Utah.

Thank you Sgt. Hiibner for your sacrifice.

Okey L Hiibner