Harry P. Papandrew was born on June 6, 1923. He resided in Erie County, Pennsylvania prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on February 20, 1943 in Miami Beach, Florida. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Office Clerk and also as Single, without dependents. Harry served as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on C-46D #42-101221, 15th Squadron, 4th Combat Cargo Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-46D #42-101221 took off, with a crew of 4, from Chittagong, India on a cargo flight to Meiktila, Burma. They last contacted the base at Chittagong when they were about 20 minutes east of Chittagong. They were not heard from or seen again. There were heavy thunderstorms in the area which may have caused them to crash, it was April 13, 1945. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until April 14, 1946, 1 year and 1 day after he went missing as was the custom. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

2Lt Papandrew was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also 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