Verne D. Christen, aged 45, was born on December 28, 1899. He resided in Jefferson County, Alabama prior to the war. Verne served as a Captain and Pilot on B-24D #42-40875, 1345th Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24D #42-40875 was involved in a mid-air collision with C-109 #42-51921 during either takeoff or landing at Luliang, China. Verne was declared "Missing In Action" in the "Line Of Duty" in this crash during the war. He was originally interred overseas and was later repatriated in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA on January 24, 1949.

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