Walter Kent served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant in the 90th Squadron, 7th Ferry Group during World War II. He went missing on October 27, 1943 when his P-39 Airacobra disappeared in an electrical storm in the Yukon Territory. His plane had left Gore Field, Montana destined for Fairbanks, Alaska for eventual delivery to Russia. Ground parties and aerial observers searched the area, but found no trace. In September 1965, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police discovered the wreckage of the P-39, along with Lieutenant Kent's personal effects, near Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory.