Hanley George Cupernall was born on April 26, 1923, in New York. He served in the 532nd Bomb Squadron, 381st Bomb Group, as a and - on the B-17 #42-97594 "Dry Gulcher" during World War II.

Their plane had left Ridgewell Airfield near the village of Shalford and was carrying incendiary bombs which it was to drop on the V2 rocket factory and launch site at Peenemunde in NE Germany. An electrical fault is thought to have caused a fire shortly after take-off and the plane crashed and exploded in a field next to St Andrew's Church, Shalford. Nine of the American crew parachuted to safety but Staff Sgt Harold Norris, the tail gunner, was trapped and died.

Lt Cupernall died on April 11, 2008, at the age of 84, and is now buried in the Riverside Cemetery, Alexandria, Jefferson County, New York, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.alamy.com