Jerome James Zierlein was born on June 21, 1921, in Liberty County, Texas. He was the son of Roscoe Reuben Zierlein and Edith Evelyn Pranglin Zierlein. He served in the 428th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot of P-38 Lightning J-15-LO #44-23661 during World War II.

On August 25, 1944, the aircraft was downed during a bombing and strafing mission aimed at the Laon-Chambry airfield in France's Aisne department. It had departed from Advanced Landing Ground A-11 at Saint Lambert and was intercepted around 14:00 by a German Me 109 fighter near Les Vallines, approximately one kilometer southwest of the commune of Cramoisy in the Oise department. The wreckage was later recovered at the crash site.

2Lt Zierlein managed to eject from the stricken aircraft, but his parachute failed to fully deploy due to low altitude. He fell near the Bois de la Garenne and was killed. He is now buried in the San Jacinto Memorial Park, Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA.

Source of information: http://francecrashes39-45.net/