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1st Lt Fred L. Dougherty Jr. enlisted in Buffalo, New York on 4 April 1941.

He had been in the service for about three years, enlisting shortly after completing two years as a student at the University of Notre Dame. Previous to his enrollment at the South Bend university, he had graduated from St. Mary's academy in Dunkirk, where he was prominent in athletics. He received his training in the aerial navigation school at Monroe, La. and received his commission as a second lieutenant in April. He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant a short time later. Lt Doughtery was sent to England in July and had been operating out of that nation since. He was known to have taken part in a number of raids, including a particularly long one to Danzig, when he was in the air over 10 hours. By October 10, he had completed 16 missions with the USAAF.

A/C 42-30654 was attacked by enemy aircraft and struck with rocket missiles. A/C broke apart in flight. Three crew members were able to bail out and became POW, the remaining 7 crew members were KIA.