Mario J. Filigenzi was born on November 11, 1921 in Pennsylvania. He was the son of Gaetano Filigenzi and Loreta Arduini Filigenzi. He served in the 561st Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy as a Master Sergeant during World War II. A member of the Metz crew, he was killed when their plane crashed on May 31, 1945. Metz took off with 10 observers for a Victory tour to view Germany after the war was over. With no loss of engines the aircraft spun and crashed and burned. There were no survivors and 14 people died.

The aircraft had landed at Station 595 (Troston) 1 Strategic Air Depot at Honington air base. It could be that the observers (from Ordnance and Quartermaster outfits) were from that base. There's a speculation that weight and balance were affected and contributed to the crash. Msgt Filigenzi is now buried in the Calvary Cemetery, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania, USA. He was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, 388bg.com