David Bradfute served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 401st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 615th Bomb Squadron at RAF Deenethorpe near Corby, Northamptonshire, England. On February 16, 1945, he flew as the Radar Navigator aboard B-17G (Badland Bat II) on a mission to bombard the railroad marshalling yards at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. His B-17 aircraft was hit by extremely accurate flak in the nose, at bombs-away. The nose appeared to melt off, with the aircraft peeling over to the left, breaking in two at the waist, and the wings came off, crashing near Oberscholven. He was awarded the Purple Heart.