Roy Jensen Zaiger was born at Kennard, Washington County, Nebraska on January 13, 1925. He was one of at least twelve children of Christian Frederick 'Chris' Zaiger (10 Mar 1890 – 28 Feb 1976), who was born at Gray, Audubon County, Iowa; and Anna Marie (Jensen) Zaiger (17 Sep 1894 – 26 Oct 1974), who was born at Shelby County, Iowa. His father's parents were born in Germany; his mother's parents were born in Denmark. His parents married at Audubon County, Iowa on September 24, 1914. His father was a farmer in Audubon County, Iowa and in Washington County, Nebraska. In 1940 the family lived at West Chehalem (aka Newberg) in Yamhill County, Oregon, and his father was a laborer on a truck farm. In 1942 they lived at Cornelius, Washington County, Oregon; and by 1944 they lived at Banks, Washington County, Oregon.
He completed three years of high school and registered for the draft at Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon in 1943. He was 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighed 130 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived with his parents at Cornelius, Oregon and was employed by Willamette Iron & Steel in Portland, Oregon. He worked as a farm hand and was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Portland, Oregon on September 16, 1943.
He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as waist gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Claude E. Gatlin Jr. The Gatlin crew completed operational training in the States and was assigned to the 836th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The crew arrived at Station 137 by November 28, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
Sgt Zaiger and his eight crewmates went missing in action on December 31, 1944, when their aircraft, B-17G 42-97398, went missing during a mission to Hamburg, Germany. After takeoff, the aircraft was never seen in formation, and the aircraft and crew were never found. They probably went down in the North Sea.
Sgt Zaiger and his crewmates are memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery near Madingley, England.
B-17G 42-97398 crew:
• Gatlin Jr, Claude E – 2/Lt – Pilot – MIA
• Uber, Frank J – 2/Lt – Copilot – MIA
• Smathers, Harold E – F/O – Navigator – MIA
• Bybee, Melvin G – Sgt – Togglier – MIA
• King, Robert H – Sgt – Engineer – MIA
• Mitchell, Bruce R – Sgt – Radio Operator – MIA
• Wright, George T – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – MIA
• Zaiger, Roy J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – MIA
• Kane, Stephen P – Sgt – Tail Gunner – MIA
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com