Royal Arthur Runyon, aged 23, was born on March 25, 1921, in Keokuk County, Iowa. He was the son of Royal Sylvanus Runyon and Eve Rebecca Simmons Graham. He was married to Dolores Patricia Nolden Aden.

Royal served in the 547th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator of the B17G 43-39035 during World War II. On March 19, 1945, he was on the crew of the B-17G #43-39035 during a mission to bomb industrial oil sites in Plauen, Germany. They suffered battle damage and were experiencing poor weather conditions on their return trip. They dropped out of formation to a lower altitude, then collided with some trees before crashing at Coley Hill near Reigate, in England. There were no survivors.

2Lt Runyon is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.honorstates.org