Donald Sharps served as a pilot with the 94th Bomb Group. On 30 December 1943, he was flying B-17 #42-37820 when it developed mechanical problems and ran out of gas before crash landin St Marys-in-the-Marsh, Romney Marsh, Kent, UK. All of the crew survived but the aircraft was destroyed.



On 11 January 1944, his aircraft B-17F #42-39822 'Miserable Bitch' was shot down by fighters on return from mission to Brunswick, Germany. He was taken as a Prisoner of War (POW) and was held in Stalag Luft I for 18 months.



Tragically, in 1949, 29-year old Sharps died from injuries sustained in a car accident outside of Romney, WV. He worked at the time for Sears Roebuck and had been returning from a meeting in Petersburg. He left behind his wife Jean and a daughter, Audrey Jean, who was two years old at the time.