Raymond Edward Hess was born in Wilmare, Pennsylvania in 1922. His parents were Samuel Logan and Sidney Grace Plummer Hess. His NARA enlistment record shows he enlisted on October8, 1942 in the Army Air Corps. His civilian employment is listed as service station attendant.

After basic training, he was qualified for flight duty, and sent to aerial gunnery school. He graduated in 1943, and was promoted to Sergeant. Then, he was assigned to an operational unit for combat crew training, and assignment to a crew. He became a waist gunner on the replacement crew headed by Lt Lowell Watts. The crew ferried a B-17 to England, and was assigned to the 388th Bomb Group. Then they were assigned to the 562nd Bomb Squadron.

The crew flew 27 missions but only received credit for 24 because of aborts. On one mission to Berlin, Germany, the B-17 flown by Watts came under heavy fire from flak batteries. This aircraft, dodging flak, hit B-17 # 42-40054, piloted by Captain Brown. The upper tail assembly was sheared off Watts' aircraft but he made it home. Brown's aircraft, unfortunately, crashed in Germany.

On March 6, 1944, the crew received orders to participate in a bombing mission to Berlin. This was SSgt Hess' 25th mission. Turning off target after bombing, the Group leaders turned too slow, and so missed the withdrawal fighter cover. With no fighter escorts, the formation was attacked by enemy aircraft over Holland. Watts' B-17 was hit, and the right wing caught fire. Then the fuselage, hit by a number of 20mm rounds, caught fire. The crew attempted to bail out, but the aircraft exploded.

Two of the crew bailed out before the explosion, one at the time of the explosion, and five were blown clear by the explosion. Hess was one of them, but his chute never opened. The three men left in the plane were killed. The wreckage came down near Zwartemeer, Holland. The bodies were recovered and buried locally. Later, they were moved to the American Cemetery in Margraten, Holland. There is a memorial marker for him in Sherbine Cemetery in Summerhill, Pennsylvania. 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, airforce.togetherweserved.com