Raymond J. Shea entered the military service in Massachusetts. He served in the 377th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group as a First Lieutenant during World War II. On a mission to the Charleroi Marshalling Yards on the 4th of April 1944, in heavy cloud cover, the plane S/Sgt. Chrisco was flying in collided with another aircraft of the 323rd BG. The collision occurred about 7 miles offshore midway between N. Foreland and S. Foreland, England. Two of the gunners, Greenwood and Harkey, were able to bail out, but the rest of the crew was lost. The following information comes from MACR 3741 (Missing Air Crew Report). Weather conditions were undercast at 7,000', CAVU above.

Crew of B-26 B25 #41-31807, 323rd BG, 454th BS:
Pilot 1st/Lt. Martin P. O'Toole St. Petersburg, Fla. KIA
Bombardier S/Sgt. Everett (NMI) Chrisco Sage, Ark. KIA
Eng/gunner S/Sgt. John C. Nau Philadelphia, PA KIA
Radio/gunner S/Sgt. Roscoe L. Harkey Jr. EUS
Armor/gunner S/Sgt. Raymond K. Greenwood EUS
Observer* 1st/Lt. Raymond J. Shea Barrowsville, M. KIA
1Lt. Raymond was from the 362 Fighter Group

1LT was declared "Missing in Action" on April 11, 1944 and his name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, b26.com