Henry Paul Brannan was born in 1917. He enlisted in the military on September 30, 1941. He served in the 327th Bomber Squadron, 92nd Bomber Group, Heavy as a Staff Sergeant and Tail Gunner of the B-17 #42-3048 "Sharon Belle" during World War II. His plane exploded near Astwell Castle on November 30, 1943 while aloft for a mission to Solingen, Germany that was scrubbed due to weather. All members of the crew were killed and the cause of explosion was never determined. SSGT Brannan is now buried in the same grave with TSGT Glaspell, 1LT Munro, Captain Pugh, and SSGT Slayton, in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.
Crew members:
Captain Richard W. Pugh - co pilot
1st Lt. William M. Holland - pilot
F/O. Leighton D. Paterson - navigator
2nd Lt. William S. Munro - bombardier
T/Sgt. Thomas D. Glaspell - engineer
T/Sgt. Billy B. Freeman - radio operator
S/Sgt. Dean Landfear - waist gunner
S/Sgt. Charles E. Slayton - waist gunner
S/Sgt. Henry A. Scott - ball turret gunner
S/Sgt. Henry P. Brannan - tail gunner