Birth: Jun. 8, 1923, Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA Death: Mar. 16, 1945, Italy

Raymond Leon Seed was born 08 June 1923 in Lebanon, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, the son of Robert W. Seed, Sr. and Florence (nee Royer) Seed. His father died before 1930 and his mother died of her injuries, after being struck by an automobile on Thursday, 20 September 1934.

Raymond L. Seed attended the Hershey Industrial School and took the printing course. He was a member of the basketball team and was very active in the school’s extra- curricular activities. He was a member of the high school band; the choir and Glee Club; the Voc. Dramatic Club; the Student Senate; the Farm Home Council; the Pageant Club; the Radio Club; the Spartan Orchestra; as well as the Symphony Orchestra. He graduated in 1941.

He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and was employed by the Glenn Martin Aircraft Plant in Baltimore, before entering the Service.

On 18 December 1943, Raymond L. Seed enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the U. S. Army Air Corps. He was sent to the Tucson Army Airfield in Tucson, Arizona, for training as an aerial gunner.

Sgt. Raymond L. Seed was assigned to the 15th Air Force; 47th Bomb Wing; 450th Bomb Group; 723rd Bomb Squadron and was sent overseas in September 1944, to join his unit at their base in Manduria, Italy. On 16 March 1945, upon taking off from their base at Manduria, Italy, on a combat mission to bomb the marshalling Yards at Weiner-Neustadt, Austria, a fire broke out seemingly in the number two (2) engine of B-24H Serial No. 42-51175, and the propeller on this engine came off. The plane left the runway and headed toward a parked aircraft, but the Pilot steered his aircraft down a Taxi Strip and then to a clear area between the Taxi Strip and the runway, where it stopped. By this time the plane was burning fiercely and soon afterwards the ship blew up. The plane was loaded with twenty-seven hundred (2700) gallons of gasoline, four thousand (4000) pounds of Bombs, and nine (9)crew members. Four crew members escaped with minor injuries, one crew member sustained major injuries, and four crew members were killed in the explosion. Sgt. Raymond L. Seed was one of the four who were killed in action. He was 21 years old and on his seventeenth (17th) mission.

A Board of Review later took statements of the survivors, who said flames were shooting out of the instrument control panel, and the cabin was filled with thick smoke. The Board of Review also examined the plane’s wreckage, and the runway, where spots of oil and the plane’s propeller were found. The Board of Review came to the conclusion that the cause of the accident was 100% mechanical failure due to worn and deteriorated parts.

16 March 1945; Manduria, Italy; 15th Air Force; 47th Bomber Wing; 450th Bomber Group; 723rd Bomber Squadron; B24H Serial#: 42-51175; Pilot: 2Lt. Richard D. Seeman, KIA, O-824924, Will County, IL; Co-Pilot: 2Lt. Kenneth F. Compson, DOI-KIA, O-2001627, Genesee County, MI; Navigator: 2Lt. Lewis W. Gennone, KIA, O-2002853, Norristown, Montgomery County, PA; Engineer-Gunner: Sgt. John W. Ragsdale, Major Injuries, 38434895, Dallas County, TX; Radio Op-Gunner: SSgt. Malcolm R. Smith, Minor Injuries, 38458653, Travis County, TX; Asst. Engineer-Ball Turret Gunner: Sgt. Sam L. Thompson, Minor Injuries, 6954657, (Hometown unknown); Asst. Radio Op-Gunner: Sgt. Edward F. Sacco, Minor Injuries, 36771196,Osage County, KS; Aerial Gunner: Sgt. Raymond L. Seed, KIA, 33901744, Lebanon, Lebanon County, PA, and Aerial Gunner: Sgt. Francis L. Massie, Minor Injuries, 37536226, (Hometown unknown).

NOTE: SSgt. Malcolm R. Smith died 03 June 1945, under non-battle conditions.

Sergeant Raymond Leon Seed was originally buried in Italy, but after the war, his remains were returned to the U.S. On 02 July 1949, Sgt. Raymond Leon Seed was buried near his hometown at the Covenant Greenwood Cemetery in Ebenezer, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, in Plot: Section 7, with full Military Honors. He was survived by his brother, Robert W. Seed, Jr.; aunts; uncles; cousins; and other relatives. [Bio information provided by Find-A-Grave contributor Patti Johnson #47128084]

Family links: Parents: Florence Eliza Royer (1895 – 1934) Burial: Covenant Greenwood Cemetery, Ebenezer, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA Plot: Section 7