Robert B. Brubaker was born in 1920 in California. He was married to Mary Nell Orren Heaton.

Robert resided in Sacramento County, California, prior to the war. He enlisted as a Private in the Army Air Corps on November 21, 1941, prior to the war, at Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, California. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as an Elevator operator and also as Single, without dependents.

At the time of his death, he was a Bombardier on the B-17G #42-32087. On July 5, 1945, his aircraft was on the way back to the United States with its crew and some passengers near the war's ending from Europe. Typically when a B-17 was returning to the United States, when no longer needed for the war effort, they took members of their ground crew back with them. That is possibly what was happening on this flight.

They had just stopped at the Azores for refueling, and shortly after takeoff, the plane caught fire. The last radio contact reported that the #3 engine had cut out, and, after trying to return, the airplane was losing altitude. The B-17 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

1Lt Brubaker was declared "Missing in Action" on this flight. His name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery, Montjoie Saint Martin, France.

Airmen who perished on B-17G 42-32087 on 5 July 1945:
Autenreith, Herbert D ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, IA
Baker, John W ~ Sgt, Radio Operator, NJ
Bonczar, Frank A ~ Pvt, Passenger, NY
Brubaker, Robert B ~ 1st Lt, Bombardier, CA
Digman, Harold H ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, OR
Granholm, Harold F ~ Sgt, Passenger, NY
Green, James W ~ Corp, Passenger, MS
Guest, Joseph P ~ T/Sgt, Passenger, PA
Janney, Leonard H ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, IL
Michalowski, Edward J ~ S/Sgt, Passenger, NY
Pentney, John L ~ 2nd Lt, Navigator, OR
Radzevich, Benny J ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, NY
Starr, James R ~ Sgt, Gunner, MA
Taylor, Charles A, Jr ~ Sgt, Passenger, MS
Zellers, Kenneth E ~ M/Sgt, Passenger, PA

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.abmc.gov