Bernard L. McGrattan was born on March 9, 1920, in Buffalo, New York. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at the beginning of World War II and served in England with the British Royal Air Force as an operational pilot before receiving a commission as a Flight Officer in the US Army Air Corps on May 26, 1943. He was credited with the destruction of 8.5 enemy aircraft in aerial combat before being shot down during the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944.
On June 6, 1944, he was piloting the P-51B-B-10-NA #43-106576 WD*D on a sweep mission in northern France. Cpt McGrattan took off from Station 356 airfield in Debden, England. His section bounced by 15+ German aircraft as it was completing a strafing run on a truck convoy. He was not seen or heard from after the engagement began. He was shot by Fw190 fighters around 8:30 PM and his aircraft crashed near Le Neubourg - 20 km NO Evreux.
Cpt McGrattan is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, 4thfightergroupassociation.org, francecrashes39-45.net