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T/Sgt Robert P. Steffen graduated from Appleton High School in 1934. He was employed at the Banta Publishing Company.
He enlisted on 17 April 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The field order for the mission called for 12 aircraft, off which six would break off the formation and bomb the generation station and gas works at Haarlem, when they would reach the coast and the other six would continue their route to bomb the power plant of IJmuiden. However, only eleven planes were serviceable, because many were still under flak damage repair from the mission the day before. Every crew knew this mission would be one they would not survive. After taking off, they soon nosed over to 50 feet to get under the German radar. A little later, approximately 30 miles from the Dutch coast, one of the aircraft experienced electrical problems and headed back to England. When they turned, they climbed to 1,000 feet what would be considered common sense with a lame aircraft. However, by climbing, the aircraft placed itself within German radar coverage thus alerting German defenses. As the remaining aircraft approached the coast, several sea vessels appeared ahaed in the flight path. The formation changed course to avoid surface fire from these vessels, with the result they reached the coast at a point with one of the most heavily defended areas in the Netherlands. In very little time, five aircraft were shot down. The remaining aircraft believed they were close to there targets but they were still miles away. After 10 minutes without recognizing any landmarks, they thought they saw the Haarlem works, but it was a gas holder on the west side of Amsterdam. They dropped their bombs but all bombs fell short and caused no damage. Unknown to the crews, the heading taken from this target headed them directly for the heavily defended port area near IJmuiden. Also all remaining aircraft were shot down.

The airplane was shot down and fell into the North Sea, off the coast of Haarlem, the Netherlands.

The co-pilot, 2nd Lt Anthony A. Alaimo, was thrown out because his safety belt was not fastened and was picked up by a German patrol boat. Of the six crew members he was the only survivor.

The pilot, 1st Lt Joseph A. Jones, washed ashore on 19 June 1943 near Bergen. Bombardier-Navigator, 2nd Lt Norris K. Calkins, washed ashore on 6 June 1943 near Castricum and was initially buried on 8 June 1943 in the community cemetery of Bergen, the Netherlands. The gunners, T/Sgt Marvin L. Harbour and S/Sgt Milton E. Littrell, are still missing and commemorated on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. Robert P. Steffen washed ashore on 13 June 1943 near Petten, the Netherlands and was initially buried in Bergen and later reburied at the American War Cemetery Ardennes in Belgium.