Robert D. Donahue was born on December 6, 1919, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the husband of Betty Louise Blackstock Donahue. He served in the 20th Bombardment Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Tail Gunner of B-17G #42-97159 nicknamed “Tail End Charlie” during World War II.

On August 29, 1944, the 15th Air Force launched Mission 263, a major raid against the Moravská Ostrava industrial complex in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. Flying from Amendola Air Base in Foggia, Italy, the 2nd Bomb Group took part in what became known as the Air Battle over the White Carpathians. During the attack, the formation was ambushed by nearly 90 German fighters, resulting in one of the group’s worst losses of the war. Within twenty minutes, eight of the nine B-17s from the 20th Bomb Squadron were shot down, crashing across Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. One of these aircraft was B-17G “Tail End Charlie” (42-97159), flying in the rear position of the formation where attacks were heaviest. After sustaining severe damage, the bomber fell from formation and crashed near Bojkovice or in the Přečkovice Woods in the Zlín region of Moravia. Two crewmen were killed, six were captured, and two evaded capture.

SSgt Donahue managed to evade capture; he made his way into Slovakia, where he was rescued on September 17, 1944, by a B-17 conducting a secret OSS mission from an airfield held by Slovak partisans. He died on August 13, 2003, and is now buried in the Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, b17flyingfortress.de