Sylvester, Byrl E. (Byrl Edwin), 1892-1918.

Byrl Edwin Sylvester was born at Plainview, Minnesota on October 19, 1892 to Edwin L. and Hettie L. (Dillon) Sylvester. He graduated from Plainview High School in 1914, and attended the University of Minnesota for three years before leaving to work in the Plainview State Bank, of which his father was president.

Sylvester joined the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, a unit of the American Red Cross, on April 24, 1917. He left for service in France in May 1917, where he worked as an ambulance driver until he was wounded on September 12, 1917. He was subsequently decorated with the French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) for his hard work and bravery.

Sylvester returned to Minnesota after his recovery as something of a local war hero, and gave several speeches in southeastern Minnesota in support of the war effort. In November he enlisted in the Naval Aviation Corps, and on December 1 began a 3-month course at Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis, as a part of this program. He next went on to the Boston School of Technology to study aviation, and then was transferred to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida, to complete his training. Sylvester was killed in an airplane collision while training over Pensacola Bay on June 19, 1918. His body was returned to Plainview, where funeral services were conducted and he was interred.

Sylvester was survived by his parents, brothers Park D. and Edwin L., Jr., and sisters Nettie Caldwell and Meta Holmes.

From the guide to the Byrl E. Sylvester papers, 1909-1921 (bulk 1917-1918)., (Minnesota Historical Society)