Richard J. Hermann was born on May 28, 1924. He served in the 849th Bomber Squadron, 490th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on the B-17 #43-37776 'Heavenly Body' during World War II. He was Killed in Action on September 27, 1944, while on a routine night training mission when his airplane crashed on the Elmside Farm near the village of Nailstone in England. After turning, just North of Nailstone, near Ibstock, the B-17's nose dropped, and the port wing struck the ground. The machine was completely destroyed by fire and explosion. The cause of the crash remains unknown, which resulted in the death of all men aboard their plane.
2Lt Hermann is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.