Samuel Donald McCollum was born on September 15, 1921 in Hamilton, Texas. He served as a Second Lieutenant and Bombardier on B-26B #41-31597, 553rd Bomber Squadron, 386th Bomber Group, Medium, U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. B-26B #41-31597 was attacked and shot down by German Fighter planes and crashed just off the coast into the North Sea. His name is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

Airmen who perished on B-26B (#41-31597):
Bragg, Paul W ~ S/Sgt, Engineer, OH
Cuthbertson, James F ~ Sgt, Tail Gunner, NJ
McCollum, Samuel D ~ 2nd Lt, Bombardier, TX
Molnar, Robert S ~ 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot, OH
Young, James P ~ S/Sgt, Radio Operator, ME
Zimmerman, Glenn F ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, ID

One airmen on this B-26, became a POW of the German Army. He was 1st. Lt. Cyrus S. Eaton, Jr. and he was held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria and he survived the war.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com