Charles W. Graper, Jr. was born in 1922. He was the son of Charles W. Graper and Gertrude M. Stepp Graper. He resided Allegheny County, Pennsylvania prior to the war. Charles served as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on B-24J #44-41451, 375th Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24J #44-41451 took off, with a crew of 10 & 1 passenger, from Chengkung, China on a combat sweep over the south China sea. They were last contacted by radio at 0230 hours and reported they were flying near Mengtez, China, over friendly territory. It is unknown what happened to this B-24 however the entire crew was lost on this mission on November 16, 1944. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until March 18, 1946. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph located in Lakewood Memorial Gardens, Dorseyville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Charles was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov