Jearold Francis Rosenberger was born at Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois on October 9, 1923. His birth name is Jearld Francis Rosenberger (first name the same as his father), but his first name was changed to Jearold in military records.

His parents were Jearld John Rosenberger (6 Aug 1898 – 16 Nov 1989), who was born at Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois; and Stella Mary (Seibert) Rosenberger (22 Aug 1902 – 6 May 1978), who was born at Kankakee, Illinois. In 1918 his father lived in Pinckneyville and worked for the Illinois Central Railroad. By 1920 his father lived in Kankakee and worked in a furniture factory, where he was a cabinet maker and later a shipping clerk. His parents married at Kankakee on January 10, 1923. By 1930 the family home was at 942 North Schuyler Avenue in Kankakee. He had a brother, Gordon L. Rosenberger (abt 1939 – unk).

He attended Kankakee High School, where he participated in the Latin, Science, and Press clubs, and was a photographer for the school's Kankakeean yearbook. He graduated from Kankakee High School in 1942, and registered for the draft at Kankakee on June 29, 1942. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived with his parents and was employed by Alpiner & Son Cigar Store at 222 S. East Avenue in Kankakee.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army by Fall 1942, and completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery and armorer training. In Fall 1943 he attended a football game at Kankakee High School. He was assigned as ball turret gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Thomas Womer. In December 1943 the Womer crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Womer crew was assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group (Heavy), at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52662 from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. After arrival at Station 137, Sgt Rosenberger and four of his original crewmates (Musser, Boyd, Lumpkin, and Kussy) were reassigned to the crew of Lt Arthur D. Erwin in the 838th Bomb Squadron.

S/Sgt Rosenberger and seven of his crewmates were killed in action on June 20, 1944 when their aircraft, B-24H 42-95217, was shot down by flak on the mission to bomb an oil refinery at Misburg near Hannover, Germany. Just after bombs away, the aircraft received a direct flak hit which tore off the tail. The aircraft spun to the ground in flames and crashed five kilometers north of Hannover. The bodies of eight crew members were found in the wreckage. The dead were buried initially at the military cemetery in Hannover-Limmer. S/Sgt Ross, the tail gunner, was able to bail out and landed at Mecklenheide near Hannover. He was captured there and became a prisoner of war.

After the war, S/Sgt Rosenberger's remains were permanently reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium.

B-24H 42-95217 crew:
• Erwin, Arthur D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Mass, Rubie R – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Mackie, Thomas S – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Musser, Elmer G – S/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Boyd, Leslie L – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Lumpkin, Claude L – S/Sgt – Nose Turret Gunner – KIA
• Kussy Jr, Leroy S – Sgt – Top Turret Gunner – KIA
• Rosenberger, Jearold F – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Ross, Albert L – S/Sgt – Tail Turret Gunner – POW

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