Herman Stanley Rasmussen was born on 25 March 1920 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. He was the son of Herman Joseph Rasmussen and Ebba Ruby Johnson Rasmussen. He was married to Catherine Gilman Hawkins.

Herman served in the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, as a Second Lieutenant during World War II. On 9 April 1945, his aircraft (P-51 #44-13788) was struck by flak in the left-wing tank while strafing a dispersal area containing German aircraft SE of Munich, Germany. He pulled his Mustang up to about 400’ then “dropped his wing and went out the right side.” Though a chute was seen, his wingman noted “it was not fully opened when it reached the ground.”

2Lt Rasmussen was declared "Missing in Action" and his name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, 4thfightergroupassociation.org