When Eugene Wesley Maben, Jr. was born on January 27, 1919, in De Leon, Texas, his father, Eugene, was 23 and his mother, Bula, was 20. He had one sister. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a Second Lieutenant in the 358th Fighter Squadron, 355th Fighter Group. He entered the service in Texas.

As Lieutenant Maben was last seen spinning over enemy territory, it was impossible to conduct any extended search on the ground or in the air. However, Wing Operations was notified of his disappearance and a listening watch was kept on all channels. Channel B for Air-Sea Rescue was also open, but no results were obtained. At the time of Lt Maben disappearance there were no radio contacts with either Operations or members of his flight which might indicate that the Pilot had run into trouble.

Wartime reports suggested he suffered an oxygen failure whilst flying a combat mission on 18 October 1943. His 355th Fighter Group Thunderbolt dived into the soft clay near Croix-lez-Rouveroy. The engine was found at a depth of five metres. The parachute bag contained the parachute log on which the pilot´s name was mentioned. The engine, nose section oleo leg and tail wheel assembly were recovered on 20 March 1999.

Source of information: www.ancestry.com, www.fieldsofhonor-database.com