Mark L. McDermott was born on November 16, 1917. He was the husband of Nadine Ruth Fletcher McDermott.

Mark served in the 427th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on the B-17 #41-24584 during World War II.

On January 23, 1943, the crew was attacked by German FW-190 fighters during their mission to bomb the port area and U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. 2Lt McDermott was a substitute on this flight. Their plane was shot down by Ltn Melchior Kestel 9./JG26 . All members were able to bail out of their airplane except for 2Lt Moser, who was killed during the attack. Of those nine members who bailed out, six were captured and taken as prisoners, two evaded German capture, and one member was killed during his parachute descent when he was shot by a hunter. Their airplane crashed at Abbey Pleyben near Edern, France. 2Lt McDermott escaped by the "l'Yvonne" (Sibiril network) on February 5, 1943 and returned to England on February 17.

2Lt McDermott died on July 15, 2004, at the age of 86. His highest rank in the military was a Colonel. He is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net