Although he was born in Indiana, Calvin Leroy Anthes made Madison, Wisconsin, his hometown. There, he graduated from Rensselaer high school and played both football and basketball. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 29, 1941. At the time of his death, he had completed 19 missions, three of which were over German air space, and was slated to return to the United States by the end of April. At the time of his death, he was serving as the bombardier aboard the B-17F "Flying Fortress" 42-97274 that was hit by enemy fire while returning from a mission over Schweinfurt, Germany. The plane exploded in mid-air and crashed near Fouleng, Belgium. Anthes and the rest of the crew usually flew in a B-17F names "Royal Flush" but were assigned another plane for this mission.