Biography
First Lieutenant Marvin Vinson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Vinson. He had a brother named Robert who was an aviation cadet at the time of his death.
Marvin came to Iowa State College after graduating from Fort Dodge High School. He soon left college, however, to enter the Army Air Forces in November, 1942. Marvin received his wings at Williams Field in Chandler, Arizona and then went to Salinas, California, for P-38 fighter training. He went overseas in February 1944 and completed over 20 missions.
Before his death, on June 6, 1944, he participated in the Normandy invasion by divebombing a railroad bridge with his P-38 Lightning.
First Lieutenant Marvin Vinson, Esquire, failed to return from a mission from somewhere over France on June 21, 1944.