Laurence Gust Holmbom entered the military service in Maine. He served in the 561st Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy as a Staff Sergeant and Ball Turret Gunner of #42-3262 "Sweetheart / Willie Wildcat" aircraft during World War II.

On 29 July, his crew successfully bombed their assigned target at Warnemunde, Germany, a Heinkel Aircraft Factory that had been converted to produce Focke-Wulf 190 fighters. The two assigned bomb groups (388th and 96th) were returning home across the North Sea when a mid-air collision happened between B-17F #42-5908 and B-17F #42-30370 (Little Caesar) from the 337th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group. This incident occurred three miles from the coast of Cromer, England. One ship broke in half and both went into the sea aflame. All ten members of the crew of B-17F #42-5908 died that day. Laurence's body was recovered but returned back to the site of the crash and buried at sea by the British. His name is commemorated on the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Ssgt Holmbom 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