Peter D. McVean (or MacVean) was born on May 27, 1916, in New York. He was the son of Peter McVean and Catherine MacCallum McVean. He was married to Mary F. Elliott McVean.

Peter Donald was a graduate of Southside High School in New York and a graduate of New York University. He served as a pilot in the Canadian Royal Air Force from 1940-1942 and then served in the U.S. Army Air Corp from 1942-1945. He served in the 714th Bomber Squadron, 448th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot on the B-24 #42-50344 'Red Sox' during World War II.

On June 27, 1944, at 03:50 PM, the crew took off from Station 146 airfield in Seething, England, to bomb the Creil airfield and marshaling yards in Creil Petit-Thérain in France. At around 06:40 PM, the crew evacuated the plane after being shot down by flak. Their airplane crashed between Les Prouhérons and the Chemin de la Procession in the commune of Vez. All members were able to bail out, but two of them were killed later. 2Lt McVean survived and evaded enemy capture through the aid of the maquis. He 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.

After the war, Donald was an employee of the Drackett Co. and retired as Vice Pres. of Sales from the Kromex Corp. in Cleveland. He was a member of the First Christian Church of Canton, the Masonic Lodge, served for many years as a volunteer at the Brecksville V.A. Hospital, and was a volunteer with the Friends of the North Canton Library. He died on July 29, 2002, at the age of 86, and is now buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery, Canton, Stark County, Ohio, USA.

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