1st Lieutenant Ralph E. Zebarth, joined so many others of his generation in responding quickly to the threat posed by the dictators of Europe and Japan. Lte. Zebarth married in November of 1942 and began his tour of duty in early 1943. After more than a year of training at a number of flight schools, he joined his crew in ferrying their initial B-24 to Cernigola Italy, arriving in time to provided support for D-Day. Over the next year, his crew flew over 50 missions in some of the most dangerous raids of the war. Zebarth was honored for his heroism with the Air Medal with several Oak Leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross, also with Valor.

Zebarth returned to the States around VE Day and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter. After reuniting with his wife, they settled into a satisfying life, having one son. Former Lte. Zebarth subsequently worked in the defense industry for nearly forty years. He was responsible for quality assurance for arming devices for numerous missile programs, including Polaris and many of the early SAM programs. His company was the largest supplier of an advanced triggering device for small weapons used in Vietnam.

Zebarth has maintained his contact with his former crew, four of whom have survived well into this century and has attended many reunions of his squadron.