Richard Heyne was born on July 22, 1923 in Independence, Missouri. He served in the 378th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group as a Second Lieutenant during World War II. On October 29, 1944, the group dropped the rail bridge at Pirmasens, Germany into the river, along with a locomotive and 15 cars caught on the bridge. They also destroyed other bridges in Pirmasens. During a subsequent armed recce of the area, the group destroyed 20 more locomotives and six more trucks. The 378th attacked rail targets around Landau; Lt. Richard Heyne and his wingman dropped down below the overcast to strafe a marshalling yard and only his leader came back up. Lieutenant Bill Stewart, the leader of the second element in Heyne's flight, looked back toward the marshalling yard and "saw a plane burning and heading into the clouds." Heyne was presumably hit by flak; he was killed when his Thunderbolt crashed. He is now buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, Thunderbolts Triumphant, The 362nd Fighter Group vs Germany's Wehrmacht