Eugene Alfred Lalanze was born on August 8, 1924, in North Charleroi, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Morris L. Lalanze and Josephine Nesti Lalanze. He served in the 566th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Engineer of B-24 #44-10579 nicknamed ''Pugnacious Princess Pat” during World War II.

On November 26, 1944, the “Pugnacious Princess Pat”, departed from Hethel Airfield in England as part of a large Allied bombing mission targeting rail yards near Hannover and the Deurag-Nerag synthetic oil refinery at Misburg. Around midday, as the formation approached the target, German anti-aircraft fire from Kirchhorst struck the bomber, shearing away part of its tail and right wing. The aircraft went down in a clearing near Altwarmbüchen, killing six of the ten crew members, while the remaining four parachuted to safety but were captured.

TSgt Lalanze was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, Pleasant Hills, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: de.wikipedia.org, www.findagrave.com