Eston Cameron Kuhn was born on May 27, 1919, in Bim, Boone County, West Virginia. He was the son of Ernest Minnis Kuhn and Nora Belle Vance Kuhn. He was married to Bertie H. Kuhn. After graduating from Van High School in 1936, he later entered military service and was selected for flight training with the U.S. Army Air Forces, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. During World War II, he served with the 71st Troop Carrier Squadron, 434th Troop Carrier Group, as a co-pilot of C-47A Skytrain #43-15101.

On June 6, 1944, during the early hours of the Allied invasion of Normandy, the Douglas C-47A Skytrain (#43-15101) participated in Mission #27 “Chicago,” towing a CG-4A Waco glider piloted by F/O Kyle toward Landing Zone W (LZ-W). The aircraft departed at 00:45 from Station 467, RAF Aldermaston, Berkshire, England, as part of the large airborne operation supporting the D-Day landings. At about 03:55, while approaching the landing area over Normandy, the aircraft was struck by German anti-aircraft fire (Flak) and crashed in the marshes of the Merderet River in France. The aircraft was piloted by 2nd Lt. Raymond C. Howard, with 2nd Lt. Eston C. Kuhn, Sgt. John W. Beckley and S/Sgt. Marvin C. Boetcher is serving as a crew member. Following the crash landing, Lt. Howard was reportedly killed by German soldiers a few minutes afterward, while the surviving crew members were captured. On the following day, June 7, 1944, 2nd Lt. Kuhn was killed when the convoy transporting prisoners was mistakenly strafed by an Allied P-47 fighter aircraft. Sgt. Beckley and S/Sgt. Boetcher survived the incident but were taken prisoner of war.

2Lt Kuhn is now buried in the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-James, Département de la Manche, Basse-Normandie, France.

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