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Rudolph Harms attended the high school of Crescent City, Illinois. He also attended Sunday School and worshiped at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Crescent City, Illinois. Prior to his military service, he worked on farms and as a tank truck driver in Kankakee, Illinois.

He joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Chicago, Illinois on 27 August 1941. He received training at Sheppard Field, Texas, and from there was transferred to other army training centers for instruction before going overseas to Thorpe Abbotts, England in May 1943.

The mission was to bomb the aircraft manufacturing plant of Caudron-Renault near Paris with 65 B-17’s, but only 37 hit the primary target. The other B-17’s, including #42-30089, flew over but didn't bomb this target due to overcast and headed for Persan-Beaumont airdrome, which was the secondary target.


Leaving the airspace over the primary target, the airplane was subjected to concentrated enemy anti-aircraft fire and determined fighter attacks. As a result of the enemy attacks, the aircraft was disabled and intense fires were ignited in its forward sections. The airplane then crashed into the rear gunner section of B-17 42-30035.

The situation became so acute that the surviving members of the crew bailed out, but S/Sgt Harms was seen to decline his parachute, grab a fire extinguisher and move forward to fight the fire by himself. He perished as the aircraft crashed.

Five crew members were killed, four men were taken prisoner and one evaded capture.

S/Sgt Harms is also remembered at the Saint Pieters Lutheran Cemetery of Crescent City, Illinois.