Robert Fry was a student of McMurray College, Abilene, TX before enlisting in January 1942. He won his wings and commission as a 2nd Lt in the USAAF at Roswell, New Mexico on 28 July 1942. He was later stationed at McDill Field in Tampa, Florida before being sent overseas in February 1943. He was pilot of B26 #41-17961 on a local training flight 27 December 1943, when, due to mechanical failure, it crash-landed at RAF Toome, in Northern Ireland. The five crewmen returned safely but the aircraft was totally destroyed. He flew on many missions as B-26 pilot over Continental Europe in the 322nd Bomb Group / 452nd Bomb Squadron and was promoted to Captain. Shot down in B-26 # 42-107695 on the 8 July 1944 mission to the Abbeville-Drucat airfield, France. Made prisoner, he was interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow (Tychowo), Poland. Captain Fry was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for extraordinary achievement while serving on 25 combat missions, and the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf clusters for meritorious achievement and flying 20 separate (more) missions as a B-26 pilot. Robert Fry stayed in the Air Force after the war and retired from military service as a Lt. Colonel in the USAF.