Aubert Mahlon Tufts was born on August 25, 1916, in Brownfield, Oxford County, Maine. He was the son of Myron Gerrish Tufts and Eva Mae Tufts. He served in the 579th Bombardment Squadron, 392nd Bombardment Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot of B-24 #42-7510 nicknamed ''El Lobo'' during World War II.

On April 29, 1944, the B-24 Liberator “El Lobo” departed RAF Wendling, England, on a major bombing mission over Germany, marking the group’s first large-scale raid toward Berlin as part of the Allied strategic bombing campaign. During the mission, the formation encountered heavy German defenses, including intense anti-aircraft fire and fighter interceptions, creating chaotic conditions in which several aircraft were damaged or forced out of formation. “El Lobo” eventually became separated, leaving it exposed as a vulnerable “straggler,” and was subsequently shot down by enemy action. The aircraft crashed in a wooded area near Dinklage, within today’s Burgwald forest, killing all ten crew members.

2Lt Tufts is now buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium. He also has a cenotaph in the Pine Tree Cemetery, Brownville Junction, Piscataquis County, Maine, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.b24.net, weremember.abmc.gov