Noel Learned served in U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant with the 822nd Bombardment Squadron, 38th Bombardment Group, 5th Bomber Command during World War II. A Co-Pilot, he was reported missing in action on November 22, 1943 when his B-25 Mitchell medium bomber was seen to crash on Awrin Island, just off the tip of Gammata, New Britain, Solomon Islands. The aircraft was possibly hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire as the right engine was seen on fire while the plane was making a steep bank to the right and then seen to go straight down.