Major Edward J. Gignac, pilot of the P-51 Mustang 42-106661 “Hot Stuff”, took off from station 141 in Bodney, Norfolk, UK on a patrol mission over German-occupied France. While strafing a convoy near Le Merlerault at 1430 his plane was hit by flak and exploded in mid-air.
From Find a Grave: Edward served as a Pilot on P-51B (#42-106661), Headquarters, 352nd Fighter Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He resided in Essex County, Massachusetts prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on April 28, 1941, prior to the war, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Actor and also as Single, without dependents. He served in the South Pacific where he was wounded at New Caledonia when he was shot down. He had earned a Silver Star at the time of his death. He was an accomplished ski jumper and on the US Olympic team but was unable to compete at the 1936 Winter Olympics due to a broken leg.