Elton Royce Aldridge was born in 1922 in Dallas, Texas. He served in the 337th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Radio Operator/Gunner on the B-17 #42-31164 'Lucky Lady' during World War II.

On January 5, 1944, his crew took off from Station 138 airfield in Snetterton Heath, England, for a mission to bomb the Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in France. Shot down by flak at around 11:00 AM, they evacuated their plane by parachute. Their aircraft crashed in the Hourtin Lake, District of Lesparre-Médoc, France. Of the crew, three members were captured by the Germans and taken as prisoners, 6 evaded the capture, and one casualty in the incident. Sgt Aldridge was one of the evadees. He returned to the UK on March 2, 1944.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net