Russell A. Sanders served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Major with the 545th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomber Group, Heavy, stationed with the 8th Air Force in England during World War II. An observer on a B-17 (#42-31495), he went missing in action on May 8, 1944, when his plane took a direct hit between the tail and doors and went into a steep, uncontrolled dive. He was reported killed on June 14, 1944. He is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
