Thomas Foster Jenkins was born on December 6, 1918. He was the son of John Thomas Jenkins and Johnnie Snellings Jenkins. He was married to Mary Helen Gaither Jenkins. He entered the Army Air Forces on October 28, 1942, earned his pilot wings in July 1943 at Turner Field, and departed for overseas in March 1944 as a B-26 Marauder pilot. He served in the 587th Bomb Squadron, 394th Bomber Group, Medium, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot of B-26 Marauder #42-96249 during World War II.

On June 6, 1944, the B-26 Marauder #42-96249 was flying from Station No. 161, Boreham Airfield, Essex, on Mission #58 to bomb German gun emplacements at Varreville, France, in direct support of the Normandy invasion. While flying on instruments in poor weather over Battle, Sussex, amid thick clouds, low visibility, and reports of icing conditions, the aircraft inadvertently collided with another B-26 from the same group, the “Stinky” (#42-107592). The violent mid-air collision caused both planes to break apart and crash: #42-96049 went down at Ashburnham Place, while “Stinky” crashed nearby at Whatlington Level. All crew members aboard both aircraft were killed, except for the pilot of “Stinky,” who miraculously survived. Their quick actions to jettison bombs before impact likely prevented further disaster on the ground, sparing nearby villages from catastrophic damage.

2Lt Jenkins is now buried in the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. Thomas F. Jenkins, Walter S. Winter, and William C. Hoeb are laid to rest together in a single grave.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, gillinghambattleb26crash.weebly.com