Glenn Swanby, Vern Lowman, Russell Baiker at the Hollywood Canteen just before leaving with the 491st Bomb Group for Europe

Staff Sergent Glenn Swanby was drafted into the Army from Los Angeles, California. He was assigned to the 491st Bomb Group of 2nd Bomb Division of the 8th Air Force in England. On the day he was killed on November 26, 1944, the 491st Bomb Group left for a mission to bomb a German synthetic fuel plant at Misberg, Germany. The Germans were about to launch the Battle of the Bulge and they didn't want to loose that fuel plant. From a total of 28 B24 bombers that left for that mission, only 12 returned. Fifteen bombers were shot down near or over the target and one bomber managed to make it to a fiiendly airfield for an an emergency landing.

Sergent Swanby trained with Dean Snow's crew in the States before the 491st was sent to England in April 1944. Dean Snow was a very good pilot and officer and would often lead missions for the group. When this occurred, they often needed an Armorer on the aircraft for marking the target for the other bombers to use in targeting their bombs. Sgt Swanby or his other fellow gunner, Sgt Walker Conrad were often excluded from these missions to make room for the Armorer and because of this, his primary crew had completed their required 35 missions and Glenn and Walker were completing their required missions with other crews. Also, when the 491st first arrived in England, crews were only required to fly 25 missions. Because of a shortage of crews, this number was later raised to 30 and then to 35. Sergent Swanby had complete over 25 missions when he was killed and he was very close to completing the required 35 missions he needed before he could be sent home. Sgt Conrad was also on this mission flying with another crew. His aircraft was shot down but Sgt Conrad managed to bail out and became a prisoner of war. Both Sgt Swanby and Sgt Conrad were highly respected by their fellow crewmembers on Dean Snow's crew.

SSGT Kenneth Peiffer, the tail gunner and only survivor from this crew reported that while on the mission they were attacked by a large force of enemy fighters. When the order was given to bail out he found both waist gunners; Swanby and Wakeman badly injured or dead from a 20 MM shell on the floor of the aircraft and the plane on fire. Sgt Swanby was very good with his 50 Caliber Browning machine gun and was most likely responsible for some of the 50 German aircraft that were shot down during this mission. His fellow crewmen believe that the 20 MM shell was most likely direct at Sgt Swanby because of extensive damage he was inflicting on the German aircraft and pilots. Sgt Swanby and the other five airmen on the grave marker never made it out of the plane. SGT Peiffer became a POW and during his interrogation by the Germans he was told that the other three crew members, Carmichael, DiFilippo, and Krivonak had bailed out but they were killed by civilians before the German Luftwaffe could reach them and take them into custody as POW's. The remains of both Carmichael and Krivonak were later recovered and buried in national cemeteries in Europe. The remains of Sgt Difilippo were recovered from his German grave in Altenhagen, Germany and initially relocated to the United States Military Cemetery in Nueville-en-Condroz, Belgium. At the request of his family, Sgt DiFilippo was relocated in 1949 to a cemetery in his hometown of Trenton, New Jersey.