by Anne M. Gleason
Robert Woodfin Boggess Jr. (1919-1943) was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woodfin Boggess of Dallas, Texas. Born on October 17, 1919, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he and his family were residents of Dallas, Texas. Lt. Boggess graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas and then attended Virginia Military Institute for two years in the tradition of his father and grandfather. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University, where he was a law student.
Lieutenant Boggess joined the Army Air Forces as a private, enlisting on October 8, 1941. He attended flight school and was commissioned a second lieutenant when awarded his wings at Stockton, California on September 29, 1942.
During a mission over Sicily, Italy, on July 15, 1943, another pilot’s plane was seen flying erratically. The observer reported that the errant plane struck Boggess’ own plane, causing the loss of both pilots and their aircraft. Lieutenant Boggess was first reported missing in action, and his death was later confirmed to his family by the War Department.
Graveside services for Robert W. Boggess, Jr. were conducted by Dr. W. Marshall Craig, the pastor of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Lt. Boggess had been a member of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church. Burial was at Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery, where Lt. Boggess’ father and mother would later be interred nearby.
In loving memory of Robert Woodfin Boggess Jr., an exquisite and timeless stained glass window combining a vision of God, a Christmas tree border, the Star of the East, a penitent, and a symbolic airplane was donated to Baylor University’s Armstrong Browning Library by his parents. The “Christmas Eve” window surrounds the image of the airplane with an excerpt from the poem, “Christmas Eve” by Robert Browning: “In youth I looked to these very skies, and probing their immensities, I found God there…”
E R Nash Sr. and Family 