Cuno Vernal “Vern” Becker was born at Vineland, Cumberland County, New Jersey on January 27, 1922. His family called him Vernal or Vern. He was the oldest of five children of Cuno Vernal Wiley Becker (24 Feb 1895 – 30 Jul 1994) and Julia E. (Bradford) Becker (1894 – 23 Dec 1959). His parents married about 1920 and lived at 915 Park Avenue in Vineland, New Jersey. In 1930 his father was a truck driver for a retail feed store. His four younger siblings were Arthur, Winifred, Eleanor, and Julia.

In 1944 Lt Becker was the Armament Officer of the 836th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group (Heavy) at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. His unit was part of the 3d Bomb Division of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. On December 24, 1944 he flew as Officer Tail Gunner and Observer on the crew of Lt Ira L. Ball in the 836th Bomb Squadron.

On December 24, 1944 the 8th Air Force launched mission #760, the largest aerial mission of the war, which involved more than 2000 heavy bombers. The mission was to bomb German airfields and supply lines, to stop the German offensive in the Ardennes known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 487th Bomb Group led the entire 8th Air Force on this mission. Lt Ball's crew flew B-17G 43-37569 in the number five position of the 487th Bomb Group's Low Squadron. The Group's target was the airfield at Babenhausen, Germany, but the formation was attacked by German fighters before reaching the target. Lt Becker was seriously injured when his crew's aircraft was shot down by German fighters south of Liege, Belgium. The aircraft broke up and most of the wreckage fell in the Ambleve River at Gouffre d'Aywaille, at about 50.4763°N, 5.6577°E. (Gouffre d'Aywaille is the gulf of the Ambleve River near Aywaille—a wider, deeper section of the river just west of Aywaille.) Six of the crewmen died immediately. Lt Becker rode the tail section from 21,000 feet to the ground. It fell in a small stone quarry near the hamlet of Chambralles, just west of Septroux. Lt Becker, gravely injured, was discovered by local resident Mr. Gaston Mean and his brothers, who contacted nearby American troops for help.

Lt Becker was removed from the tail, and was treated initially at an aid station in Aywaille. He died of his injuries at an Allied hospital in Herbesthal, Municipality of Lontzen, Province of Liege, Belgium on December 26, 1944. His remains were returned to the United States and reinterred at Siloam Cemetery in Vineland, New Jersey on November 9, 1947.

B-17G 43-37569 crew:
• Ball, Ira L – 1/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Tomea Jr, Gordon R – 1/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Sperber, Harold P – 1/Lt – Navigator – Safe
• Broom, John C – 1/Lt – Bombardier – Safe
• Parks, Warren H – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Lull, Robert H – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Gaudin Jr, Duffy J – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Conery, John J – S/Sgt – Waist gunner – KIA
• Becker, Cuno V – 1/Lt – Officer Tail Gunner – KIA

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com