It was a grim-faced little mission of three men that swung up the short walk of the modest home at 411 Sand Springs Rd., Tuesday afternoon. A mission of seasoned----if young----fighters, a marine and two navy men back from the Pacific war to give comfort to the parents of one of their fallen buddies.

The home was that of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Acree whose son, Lloyd Edgar Acree, 22, was killed in the Solomon Islands Naval Battle of last October 11th & 12th when 13 of 14 Jap warships and transports were sunk in one of the greatest battles of this Pacific war.

The three returning men were aboard Lloyd's ship. With bowed heads they were there when their buddy was buried at sea the afternoon after the battle.

Now, they are home on leave for the first time in more than a year and one of their first acts was to visit Mr. and Mrs. Acree and tell them how bravely and gallantly their son had died in the service of his country.

The three are M. L. Holland, EM2c, Navy Fireman 3c and son of Mr. & Mrs. C. E. Stephens; James F. Hayes, Comdr., son of Mr. & Mrs. Wallis Hays, and Harold L. Lockhart, Ensign, Navy Fire Controlman 2c, and son of Mrs. L. Lockart.

The three were reluctant to talk for publication but they paid high tribute to Lloyd who had been their shipmate for many months. At the Acree home were the mothers of the three and also Mrs. Elmo C. Puryear, whose son, Insull, 21, Navy Aviation Machinist Mate 3c, was also aboard the warship during the battle but who has not been home in two years.

Oddly enough there were at least eight Tulsa men aboard Lloyd's ship, an unusual circumstance for so many from one inland city. Besides the four mentioned here, there were Marine Corp. John Hancock, son of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Hancock, who was home Thanksgiving; Harvey Vickery, whose wife lives in Tulsa, and Victor Thompson, son of Mrs. Sarah Thompson, who lives in Tulsa also.

A touching tribute to Lloyd's memory was paid by the ship's Victory Division of which he was a member, in a letter to Mr. & Mrs. Acree in December. This division, which cares for the ship's planes and of which Puryear and Vickery also were members, sent two $50. war bonds as a token of their feelings. The letter was dated: December 7, anniversary of Pearl Harbor, "Somewhere?"

"These bonds are but a small indication of the feeling of the men of the Victory division in which Lloyd served," the letter stated.

"We feel his loss greatly and miss his winning personality and cherry greeting. We know how you both feel and can only add our sympathy at the loss of a real sailor."

The letter was signed by the ship's captain, division leader and members of that group. Lloyd's action during the battle is credited with having saved the lives of several shipmates during gun firing.

The Acrees have two other sons in the service. Paul, 20, is a Navy Fireman 1c and is stationed in New York City. Eddie, 23, is in the Army and stationed at Camp McCoy, Wis.

The mothers of the boys aboard Lloyd's ship had never met until they learned their sons were together on the ship. See Article

"We all became acquainted and when we received a letter from one of our sons we felt like it was to all of us", said Mrs. Puryear.