Vernon Edwin Graham was born on March 25, 1922, in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas. He was the son of Omer Omeadie Graham and Mary Addie Bales Graham. He worked for Phillips Petroleum before enlisting in the U.S. Army on September 15, 1942. He served in the 32nd Bomber Squadron, 301st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B‑17G‑35‑BO #42‑32107 during World War II.

On July 26, 1944, the aircraft was shot down while carrying out a bombing mission over Austria. It went down near St. Jakob im Walde in the Styria region, one of multiple bombers lost by the group that day amid heavy enemy fighter resistance. The losses occurred during a larger Allied air campaign aimed at industrial targets across Austria, which encountered significant opposition.

SSgt Graham was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Maple Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas, USA.

Source of information: b17flyingfortress.de, www.32ndbombsquadron.org