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Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

 

World War II Hero of the Minor Leagues 

 

 Keith Bissonette

 

Date and Place of Birth: November 1920, Enderlin, North Dakota
Date and Place of Death: 1944 Burma
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Infield and Outfield
Rank: Lieutenant
Military Unit: USAAF
Area Served: China-Burma-India Theater of Operations

 

Bissonette flew over 200 missions as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters.

 

Keith F Bissonette was born in Enderlin, North Dakota in November 1920. He was signed by the St Paul Saints of the American Association at the end of 1939 and assigned to the Leesburg Anglers in the Florida Sate League the following year where he batted .277 with 67 RBIs. Bissonette was with the Augusta Tigers in 1941, batting .291 and the Jacksonville Tars in 1942, both in the Sally League. He also spent part of 1942 with St Paul, batting .237.

 

Bissonette entered military service after the 1942 season and served with the Army Air Force where he trained to be a fighter pilot. Lieutenant Bissonette earned his pilot's wings at the end of 1943, and left his young wife in St Paul, Minnesota to serve overseas in the CBI Theater.

 

 

Bissonette flew over 200 missions as a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters.

 

Lieutenant Keith Bissonette was lost on a mission over Burma in 1944.

 

Thanks to Bob Moschin for Bissonette's minor league stats.

 

Added September 18, 2006. Updated January 29, 2007.

Copyright © 2007 Gary Bedingfield (Baseball in Wartime). All Rights Reserved.