Roy Weldon East was born on November 3, 1921 in Caldwell, Kentucky. He was the son of Henry Elgan East and Susie May Waide East. Roy was a B-17 radio operator assigned to 535th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group. He died in action on November 5, 1943 during a mission to Gelsenkirchen, flying aboard 42-30852 "Blowin' Bessie" MS-V. He was last seen laying in the radio room possibly killed by fighter attack. His body was not recovered and is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands. He also has a cenotaph located in Shady Grove Cemetery, Shady Grove, Crittenden County, Kentucky.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, http://www.americanairmuseum.com