Cornelius D. "Buddy" Cregin was born in 1919 in New York. He resided in Kings County, New York prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on April 2, 1941, prior to the war, in Jamaica, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a inspector and also as Single, without dependents. Cornelius served as a First Lieutenant and Pilot on C-46A #42-23600, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-46A #42-23600 took off, with a crew of 4, from Misamari, India on a cargo mission to Kunming, China. After takeoff they were not seen nor heard from again and it is unknown whether they crashed in India or China. The entire crew was lost. He was declared "Missing in Action" on May 25, 1944 and is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

Cornelius 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, www.abmc.gov