Ernest Thomas Moriarty was born on February 21, 1922, in Winchendon, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the service on June 26, 1941. He trained with the 34th Bomb Group before transferring to the 306th at Wendover as an Engineer and Top Turret Gunner. Serving with the 96th Bomb Group, he completed 25 missions, including a round-robin flight to Russia and Italy, surviving two crash incidents on takeoff and landing.

On March 8, 1943, the B-17F #41-24514 departed Station 111 at Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, at 11:45 on a mission against the Rennes marshalling yards in France. At 14:30, over Plouguenast (Côtes-d’Armor, France), the bomber was attacked and shot down by a German Fw 190 fighter. The crew bailed out by parachute; however, the pilot was killed when his chute failed to open at low altitude. The majority of the crew were captured and spent the remainder of the war as prisoners, while one evaded capture and made it back to the United Kingdom with assistance from the local resistance and a fishing boat escape.

Sgt Moriarty parachuted to safety, aided by French workers, and quickly returned to London, one of the fastest recorded evasions. Afterward, he resumed flying with the 96th Bomber Group, completing his full 25-mission tour as a Technical Sergeant. He later documented his wartime experiences in ''One Mission Into 23'' and, in civilian life, he worked as a long-haul trucker for Specter Freight. He died on March 31, 2000, and is now buried in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net, www.americanairmuseum.com