Ernest Gilbert Swart was born on June 11, 1919 in Seneca, Nemaha County, Kansas. He was the son of George Martin Swart and Zula May Gilkerson Swart. He served in the US Air Corps as a First Lieutenant and Pilot of an aircraft during World War II. He died on January 18, 1945 in China at the age of 25 when he bailed out at 250 feet but was killed. His crew said, "Keeping the plane level so his crew could bail out safely cost him his life. 1Lt Swart is now buried in the Oneida Cemetery, Oneida, Nemaha County, Kansas, USA. He 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.