USAAC SSgt. Stamati G. Kithriotis was born on August 3, 1924, the son of George Kithriotis (1890-) and Marie (aka Mary) Kehriotou (1903-1990). Both of his parents were born in Greece with his father immigrating to America in 1911 and his mother in 1923. His parents supported the family by running a Greek grocery store at 700 West Belmont Street while living next door at 702. However, in 1938 George and Marie split up and she married Charles Liberis (1886-1950) that year in Panama City. Charles ran a billiard hall at 12 East Romana Street.
In the meantime, Stamati graduated from Pensacola High School in 1942 and attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn until December. At that time, he enlisted in the the US Army Air Corps on December 6, 1942 and was processed through Camp Blanding, Florida and then to Keesler Airfield for training. Upon completion of gunnery school at Harlingen he was promoted to sergeant. When asked why he enlisted, he told his father he wanted to strike a blow against the hated Nazi's to help liberate his relatives in Greece.
He was assigned to the 717th Bomb Squadron of the 449th Bomb Group (15th Air Force) but first you had to have a plane to fly. They received their B-24 bomber on October 29, 1943 at Bruning Army Airfield in Nebraska and all decided to name her the "Temptress." Upon orders, the crew took off and headed overseas in December 1943 and landed in Italy at the Grottaglie Army Airfield near the town of Fragagnano. For the next several months, they bombed strategic targets, some in preparation for the Anzio landings.
On February 23, 1944, the bombers lined up for takeoff for their 11th bombing mission. Pilot Howard D. Jeutter released the brake as they sped down the runway. As they left the ground, they suddenly developed engine trouble. They jettisoned their bomb load however some exploded tearing through the plane's fuselage. All aboard were killed. Ironically, a B-17 bomber by the same name was shot down and crashed two months later. The crewmen were taken to the hospital for processing where Stamati was noted to have severe and fatal head injuries. His father was notified of his death on March 13, 1944 and told the news of how proud he was of his son's sacrifice. Stamati was buried in a local military hospital then returned home at his mother's request in April 1949 and buried at Barrancas Cemetery.
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