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Elliot Eakin was born in New York in 1918. In Rye his family lived at 2 Stuyvesant Avenue. Elliott was a Rye High School Graduate, Class of 1935. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Elliot Eaken
Elliot Eaken was born to Constant and Elliot Eakin on February 2nd, 1918. The family lived in Manhattan for his early life, and his father worked at an electrics company. However, as the Great Depression hit, Elliot was sent to live with his maternal uncle in Rye. He lived with Uncle and Aunt, Chetwood and Julia Elliot, and their children Harry, John and Julia at 2 Stuyvesant Avenue.
It was here that he completed his education and worked as a salesman for an advertising company, after graduating from Rye High School in 1935. In school he was active in athletics and took a special interest in local civics, he was a member of the National Honor Society, stagecoach staff, and was Class Secretary. Elliot Eaken married Elizabeth Anne O’Brien in January of 1942 and in February he enlisted with the US Army Corps, after setting up a home at 35 Locust Avenue.
While waiting in Fort Moses, Washington to be assigned a station, Elliot ran into a fellow Rye High School graduate and friend, Charles Moxhay. The two were stationed in Britain together, and Moxhay was a bombardier on the plane Eakin piloted. Lieut. Moxhay flew with Eakin on 30 missions and went on to say “I can remember at least five times when Eakin saved my life” and called him a “superlative” pilot. Lt. Eakin himself praised their crew for its individual expertise that slot together easily, “we developed a smooth working team that brought us through many a rough spot.”
Their plane, dubbed the Inside Curve after the pitch in baseball known to be hardest to hit, was a B-17 Flying Fortress. It flew in raids over Germany with a dedicated escort of fighter pilots. 1st Lieutenants Moxhay and Eakin were both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, for incredible heroism.
Elliot and Elizabeth welcomed a son, Brian, in 1944 and a daughter, Melissa, in 1961. They raised their family in Rye, at 111 Hix Avenue. Elliot was a member of the Rye Democratic Committee and later Chairman. He worked on the school board, and held a passion for the community. The family were members of Coveleigh.
Elliot Eakin retired in Rye and passed in 2010, after his wife and son. At the time he was survived by his daughter Melissa.
Elizabeth Waters
Rye High School, 2023
Inside Curve: The plane was named by the radio operator, John Sparky Collier, who was a big St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan. Collier knew that the inside curve pitch in baseball was the hardest to hit so the crew agreed to affix the name to their plane. Elliot Eakin was pilot. Plane #42-39973. Rye High School Graduate, class of 1935
An Eighth AAF Bomber Station. England
The Disinguished Flying Cross, one of the airmen's most, coveted awards, has
been presented to 1st Lt, Elliot Eakin
of Rye. N. Y., pilot of the Eighth AAF
Flying Fortress, ''Inside Curve,'' for
''extraordinary achievement'' while
participating in numerous combat missions over Germany and Nazi Europe.
At the controls of ''Inside Curve,''
Lt. Eakin has taken part in six attacks on Berlin but regards the assault
on the synthetic oil factory in Brux,
Germany, as the roughest air battle
of his career.
''About 200 enemy fighters jumped
us,'' said the Rye youth. ''They came
at us in groups of at least 50, making
vicious head-on attacks, and blazing
their way in until either hit by our
gunners' fire or forced to turn to avoid
collisions.''
The crew of ''Inside Curve'' claimed
5 fighters destroyed in 20 minutes during the attack.
Lt. Eakin had the highest praise for
every member of his crew.
''We found.'' he stated, ''that there
is no substitute for individual responsibility. Each man was an expert at
his own job and left free to handle
it with a minimum of interference.
''With this as a basis,'' he added,
''we developed a smooth working team
that brought us through many a rough
spot.''
The crew saw flak put 39 holes in
their ship in 29 missions, and then
picked up over 50 flak holes in less
than ten minutes over Berlin on their
30th sortie. ''But the old Fort brought
us home in good shape,'' Lt. Eakin
observed, ''even though she did look
like something of a sieve.''
Lt. Eakin had a special word of
praise for the fighter pilots that escort
the Fortresses. ''We really like those
boys,'' he stated, ''and have the greatest admiration for the way they will
attack enemy fighters, no matter how
great the odds. On one trip we saw
7 P-47s jump over 30 Nazi fighters and
scatter them all over the -sky, shooting down several.
Lt. Eakin's wife, Elizabeth, and son,
Brian, live at 445 E. 65th Street, NewYork City. His aunt and uncle, Mr.
and Mrs. Chetwood Elliot, live at Rye,
N. Y
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