Ernest B. Gaston II was born on March 21, 1924. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II as a Second Lieutenant in the 9th Air Force, 53rd Fighter Squadron. Gaston was the pilot of the P-47 Thunderbolt serial number 42-28398 6V that took off from the A-16 airfield in Brucheville (Normandy). He hit a tree while machine-gunning a convoy in the vicinity of Sivry-Courtry, France and his plane crashed and exploded. He died on August 26, 1944, was initially buried at Villeneuve-sur-Auvers in France and is now buried at Colony Cemetery, Fairhope, Baldwin County, Alabama, USA.