Owen Howard “Tony” Jorgensen was born on September 9, 1921, in Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah. He was the son of Enoch Berg Jorgensen and Gertrude Mary Sanders Jorgensen. He enlisted in the service on March 23, 1943. He served in the 613th Bomber Squadron, 401st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator of B-17 #42-31037 nicknamed "Pistol Packin' Mama" during World War II.

On July 20, 1944, Pistol Packin’ MaMa took off from Deenethorpe for a bombing mission over Leipzig but was diverted to the secondary target at Kölleda airfield due to cloud cover. During the bombing run, the aircraft was struck by flak, igniting a fire in the engine and wing fuel tank, prompting the crew to bail out. The plane spiraled down, lost its tail, and crashed near Bärenhügel, Thuringia, resulting in the deaths of three crew members, while the others were captured and became prisoners of war.

2Lt Jorgensen landed successfully, removed his parachute, and was killed by civilians. He is now buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

Source of information: aircrewremembered.com, www.americanairmuseum.com