George S. Knight was born on November 27, 1923, in Illinois. He was the husband of Betty J. Knight. He enlisted in the service in July 1941. He served with the 587th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomb Group, Medium, as a Staff Sergeant and crew aboard the B-26 Marauder #42-96050, based at Station No. 161, Boreham Airfield, Essex, England, during World War II.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the B-26 Marauder #42-96050 collided midair with B-26 #42-96263 over Gillingham, Kent, England, at about 5:05 a.m. while en route to a bombing mission over France. Poor visibility, heavy cloud cover, and rain were contributing factors. After the collision, #42-96050 jettisoned some of its bombs but crashed into homes on Corporation Road, destroying six houses and killing all six crew members and four civilians. The other Marauder crashed into an orchard at East Court Farm, also killing its entire crew.

SSgt Knight is now buried in the Jacksonville Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com