Edward Herman Monaghan was born on April 2, 1916, in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. He was the son of George and Ida Monaghan. He was married to Anna Kosko. He worked as a chauffeur and driver before enlisting in the service on April 8, 1941. Trained as an engineer gunner, he earned his Air Crew wings in October 1943 and went overseas in February 1944. He served with the 587th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force, flying aboard the B-26 Marauder, based at Station No. 161, Boreham Airfield, Essex, England.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the B-26 Marauder #42-96050 collided midair with B-26 #42-96263 over Gillingham, Kent, England, at about 5:05 a.m. while en route to a bombing mission over France. Poor visibility, heavy cloud cover, and rain were contributing factors. After the collision, #42-96050 jettisoned some of its bombs but crashed into homes on Corporation Road, destroying six houses and killing all six crew members and four civilians. The other Marauder crashed into an orchard at East Court Farm, also killing its entire crew.

SSgt Monaghan is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, gillinghambattleb26crash.weebly.com