Cary Lewis Gray (other sources list him as Carl) was born on June 21, 1921, in Glade Spring, West Virginia. He was assigned to the 513th Fighter Squadron, 406th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force. He was a pilot flying the P-47 Thunderbolt with serial number 42-8544, out of Ashford, England.

The 513th was flying in support of the Normandy invasion during June 1944. On June 17th, the squadron had an armed reconnaissance mission in the Lessay area from which 2nd Lt. Carl Gray failed to return. He was seen to bail out of his plane 2 miles east of Cherbourg. His plane had been hit by flak. On the 20th of June, Lt Gray was listed as missing in action on the Squadron Morning Report but was found on a later date. He is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.

From Find a Grave:
2nd Lt Cary L. Gray, pilot of the P-47 Thunderbolt 42-8544, took off from station 417 Ashford, UK on a reconnaissance mission over Lessay. While flying at 4500 feet, the formation came under AA fire at 2030. The planes scattered to avoid getting hit, but Gray went down. One of his wingmates, Lt Funk, and a French farmer milking his cows, Mr. Lebunetel, saw him bail out safely. However, once on the ground, he was shot execution-style by the Germans.
Source of information: www.abmc.gov, https://etvma.org