Forrest W. Pafenberg was born on December 19, 1922, in Jackson County, Indiana. He was the son of Guy Pafenberg and Cora Pafenberg. He worked as a general farm laborer before entering military service, first enlisting in the National Guard on January 7, 1941, and later joining the Air Corps on June 8, 1942. He served with the 587th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomb Group, Medium, as a Corporal and crew aboard the B-26 Marauder #42-96050, based at Station No. 161, Boreham Airfield, Essex, England, during World War II.

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.

Cpl Pafenberg is now buried in the Fairview Cemetery, Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com