Ernest L. Chapman was born in 1918. He was aboard B-29 "Carlalani" (serial 42-65213) when the plane iced up and broke apart over China. They were returning to India after a mission to Mukden, Manchuria.

42-65213, piloted by Sam B. White, had just taken off from Kiunglai, China on a ferry mission to Piardoba, India with 17 men on board.

42-65213 started to pick up ice at 4500 feet but continued to climb to an altitude of 10600 feet. By this time the aircraft had picked up so much ice that it could climb no further. Aircraft Commander White tried to make a turn to return to base at which time it went into a flat spin, and began to disintegrate in midair. There were no survivors.

Ernest died on December 7, 1944 and is now buried in the Riverside Cemetery, Bloomville, Delaware County, New York, USA. He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com