Robert Ernest Moessner was born on January 6, 1920 in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. He resided in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on January 7, 1942 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Manager and also as Single, without dependents. Robert served as a First Lieutenant and Bombardier on B-24D "Sweepy-Time Gal" #42-40622, 373rd Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24D #42-40622, while on a mission to locate and attack shipping off Hong Kong, they were attacked and damaged by Japanese Zeros and crashed into the Pearl River during the war. Robert was initially declared "Missing In Action" in this crash. His status was changed to "Killed In Action" after his remains were recovered. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines with a rosette placed in front of his name at Manila to signify that his remains were recovered.

Robert's remains were recovered in 2005 and identified in early 2016. The family was notified in June, 2016. He is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, 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, www.abmc.gov