Kenneth L. Houghton was born in 1917 in San Francisco, California. He served in the 418th Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot on the B-17 #42-97859 ' Any Gum Chum' during World War II.

On June 25, 1944, his crew took off at Station 139 airfield in Thorpe Abbott, England, on a mission to drop material supplies for the Maquis during Operation Zebra. Shot down by flak, the crew evacuated the plane at 13,000 feet. The airplane caught fire on the wing, and one engine shut down and crashed near St-Germain-des-Grois, France. All members survived except for the Mechanic, whose parachute failed to open. Four crew members were captured by the Germans, while the remaining four evaded the capture (including 2Lt Houghton). 2Lt Houghton was one of the 152 allied airmen and soldiers who were helped and hidden in the Freteval Forest camp by the French Resistance to evade German capture.

Source of information: francecrashes39-45.net