Mauri Erlich was born on June 15, 1917. He resided in Missouri prior to the war. Maurie served as a Private First Class, 342nd Ordinance Company, U.S. Army During World War II. On May 23, 1945, he was a passenger on Flight C-46D (4-77507) which was taking 41 American soldiers that were ill, injured, or repatriated prisoners of war to hospitals in the Paris, France area and was then eventually going to take them all back to the United States. This flight occurred after Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. However this C-46, for unknown reasons, developed a fire in one of it's two engines and crashed near the village of Taillefontaine, near Paris. All men aboard were killed in the crash. PFC Erlich is now buried in the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, University City, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.