1st Lt. George Fowler Bradbury was born on February 9, 1922, in Ranburne, Cleburne County, Alabama, and served as the navigator aboard B-24 Liberator 42-50603, which departed Harrington, United Kingdom, at 22:30 hours on a mission to resupply Resistance fighters as part of Operation Carpetbagger.

Due to a series of miscommunications, delayed reports, and poor weather, a U.S. anti-aircraft battery was unknowingly positioned along the aircraft’s flight path. Following standing orders, the crew had switched off their Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponder to avoid detection by German night fighters. Unaware of the friendly aircraft overhead, the American gunners opened fire, striking the B-24 four times and causing it to crash, killing all but two crew members—a tragic result of compounded human errors.

Lt. Bradbury was declared Missing in Action, and for decades his fate remained unknown. In 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified his recovered remains through DNA analysis provided by his family. On October 4, 2025, he was laid to rest at Union Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Ranburne, Alabama, bringing him home at last, eighty-one years after his final mission.

Source of information: findagrave