Robert Russell Kurtz served in the 780th Bomber Squadron, 465th Bomber Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on the B-24 "Sugar Baby" #42-52498 during World War II.

On August 3, 1944, his crew took off from Pantanella, Italy, on a bombing mission over Friedrichshafen, Germany. On their return, they were attacked and shot down by German aircraft. His aircraft crashed at Brendlkar, Tyrol, Austria. His crew lost 2 members in this incident while the remaining were taken as prisoners, including 2Lt Kurtz. Some sources of information reference the location of the crash as Ehrwald.