Elmer J. Schramm was born on March 5, 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Anton Schramm and Elizabeth M. Cavasson Schramm. He served in the 836th Bomber Squadron, 487th Bomber Group, Heavy as a Second Lieutenant and Bombardier of Lt Milner's crew during World War II.

On April 8, 1945, Lt Milner's crew led the Low Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hof, Germany. Lt Tony Bamberg flew in the copilot position as Air Leader, and Flight Officer Swan, the copilot, moved to the tail gun position as officer tail gunner and formation observer. Lt Sherman and four of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft, B-17G 44-8547, was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Hof. The ship received a direct flak hit near the right wing, and probably another in the tail. F/O Swan may have been wounded and unable to bail out from the tail. Lieutenants Sherman, Milner, Bamberg, and Schramm were in the nose trying to bail out when the aircraft exploded and crashed near Heinersgrόn, about 12 kilometers northeast of Hof. Four men bailed out and survived as prisoners of war.

The bodies of the five casualties were not recovered until September 24, 1952. They were buried first at the Mausoleum in Frankfurt, Germany. The remains could not be individually identified. They were returned to the United States and reinterred in a group burial at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Saint Louis, Missouri on April 30, 1953. They are not listed in the U.S. War Department's World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel because the remains were found after publication.

B-17G 44-8547 crew:
• Milner, Leon R – 1/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Bamberg, Tony O – 1/Lt – Air Leader – KIA
• Sherman, Edward H – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Schramm, Elmer J – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Wechsler, Stanley J – 1/Lt – Mickey Operator – POW
• Bellow, Irving – S/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• Jackson, John A – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – POW
• Bullion, Bobby J – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW
• Swan, Clement E – F/O – Officer Tail Gunner – KIA

Source of information: www.findagrave.com