Oliver Elmo "Buddy" Deckard was born in 1924. He was a graduate of Ellettsville High School and the Bloomington Business College. He was a junior clerk at the State House in Indianapolis before he volunteered for service in the Army on October 9, 1942.

At the time of his enlistment, he was a member of the Indiana State Guard, Company G, 4th Infantry. He was sent from Fort Harrison to St. Petersburg, FL and later to aerial gunnery school in Harlingen, TX. He graduated from this school with honors on December 14, 1942.

On February 20, 1943, he received a diploma from the Air Forces Technical School in Salt Lake City, UT. Around June 13, 1943, he and his crew flew to England near London. He was a crew member of a B-17 which was shot down in the vicinity of Hanover, Germany on July 26, 1943, while on a combat mission. He was a crew member of the plane "Blind Date," but had volunteered to go on the plane that was shot down to replace a member who was ill that day.

Sgt Deckard is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupré, Belgium. He also has a cenotaph located in Knightridge Cemetery, Knight Ridge, Monroe County, Indiana. He was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov