Albert Ray McCraw was born on April 15, 1922, in Texas. He was the son of Albert Raymond "Ray" McCraw and Stella Boylston Riley Burns. He served in the 2nd Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Group, as a Captain and Pilot of P-51 Mustang 44-14227 "Hey Rube IV" during World War II.

On November 1, 1944, Cpt McCraw was part of an exceptionally important escort mission over southern France. The 52nd Fighter Group had been tasked with protecting an Avro York and a Liberator “Commando” transporting Prime Minister Winston Churchill and returning diplomats from Italy to England. Flying his P-51D Mustang “Hey Rube!! IV,” McCraw served as part of the lead patrol alongside Lt. Sullivan under Flight Leader Major Ohr. Poor weather quickly complicated the mission. Thick clouds and shifting visibility forced the Mustang pilots to constantly adjust altitude in an effort to stay with the VIP transports. As the formation pushed north toward the Larzac Plateau, the escort groups became increasingly separated despite Major Ohr’s attempts to regroup them. Shortly after 13:50, in worsening conditions near Rodez and La Cavalerie, McCraw’s P-51D collided with the aircraft of 2nd Lt. Clarence Edward Carson. The mid-air collision was fatal for both. McCraw’s Mustang crashed at 43°51′31.92″N / 03°16′04.74″E, while Carson’s came down roughly 1.5 kilometers away near Les Rives and Combélère. Local gendarmes documented the crash, and villagers saw the wreckage fall onto the plateau.

Both pilots were killed instantly. They were initially buried in the village cemetery at Rives, and later McCraw was reinterred at the Forest Park Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

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