Donald P. Breeden was born on April 9, 1921, in Worley, Kootenai County, Idaho. He was the son of Clarence Ivan Breeden and Huldah "Hilda" Breeden. He was married to Margarette Talbot. He served in the 364th Bomber Squadron, 305th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot of the B-17 #42-3436 during World War II. Breeden had flown five missions as a co-pilot, starting on October 4, 1943, with a raid on Frankfurt alongside the McDarby crew in B-17 #42-29988, known as the "Uncouth Bastard." He then participated in missions to Bremen on October 8 with "Devastating Dottie," to Gdynia on October 9, and to Münster on October 10—all with the same crew and aircraft.

On October 14, 1943, the B-17F Flying Fortress #42-3436 joined a major Allied mission to bomb Schweinfurt's industrial targets. Known as "Black Thursday," the raid faced fierce resistance, with bombers lacking long-range fighter escorts. The aircraft came under heavy attack from German fighters, suffering critical damage, including hits to its number 2 engine. Around 13:45, the B-17 broke apart midair. The tail section, with two deceased waist gunners, fell near a Dutch coal mine, while the nose section crashed in Germany near Finkenrath. Five crew members survived but were captured; 2Lt Breeden was never found and declared as Missing in Action. He was officially declared dead on October 15, 1944. 2Lt Breeden's name is memorialized in Tablets of the Missing in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands.

Source of information: www.americanairmuseum.com