George Rodger Caplinger was born on November 9, 1920, in Gratis, Preble County, Ohio. He was the son of William Ray Caplinger and Roxie Mae Haas Caplinger. He served in the 566th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and a gunner of the B-24 Liberator 42-41013 “Trouble” when it took off from Station 114 in Hetel, Norfolk, UK on a mission to bomb the German town of Ludwigshafen.

The mission was a success, but the bombers picked up a pack of German fighters over Chateauneuf-sur-Loire at 1300 hours. The “Trouble” was attacked at 21,000 feet by rocket-equipped Fw-190 fighters. The cockpit and right wing were hit. Ablaze, the bomber dropped out of formation. Only Sgt Sweatt, Lt Daily, and a third unidentified crew member were able to jump. Sweatt escaped, but Daily was shot before he hit the ground. The crew members’ bodies were never found by the local population. However, someone did, for they were recorded as buried in the Saint-Chéron de Chartres cemetery. On March 12, 1944, at 10 am, Mr Broutin found an unidentifiable corpse in the woods of Bouville, no doubt the third aviator who bailed out.

SSgt Caplinger was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Fairview Cemetery, Gratis, Preble County, Ohio, USA.